From A Swimming Hole On "Peggy's Farm", To Knoebels Grove

 
Much  of the text below is taken directly from The History Of Knoebels.  I've added assorted old photos of the items mentioned in the early history, as well as some additional history.

From Spaceship Simulator To Sky Slide - At Knoebels

The Spaceship Simulator opened at Knoebels in 1958

 Riders would take a seat inside the rocket and watch a film on space exploration. As the rocket in the film was about to blast off the rocket ride would tilt upward to simulate a launch.

The Roller Skating Endurance Contest At Knoebels, 1933

The Crystal Ballroom & Skating Rink at Knoebels, Built 1933
[Today the Roaring Creek Arcade building]

In the early days of Knoebels, rides were operated by individuals who paid rent to Knoebels.  The first ride to open was a carousel, in 1926.  But then, the Great Depression arrived.  While many still visited Knoebels, few had the money to build and operate new rides.  There was however, a sawmill on the property, and plenty of wood..  so it was a good time to build pavilions, cottages, and, a skating rink and ballroom.  Roller Skating was very popular in the 1930s.

[Unknown Year]

So popular in fact, that in September of 1933, a "Roller Skating Endurance" Contest was held at the Knoebels Skating Rink.  15 Couples entered the contest on Wednesday August 30th.  

On Saturday September 8th 1933, at the end of the skating rinks fist season, Knoebels Grove held a "Roller Skating Endurance Contest".

No breaks. Continuous skating.  Eat and drink while skating.  

The world's record for skating endurance was, at that time, 3 days.

The contest began at 7pm on Wednesday August 30th 1933, and lasted for a week.  

"Two of the regions well known doctors will be on hand at all time to render what assistance may be needed.  They will be assisted by two trained nurses, Miss Helen Godleki of Mount Caramel and Miss Margaret Jones of Ashland"

Of those 15 couples originally listed as signed up for the event, only 10 were still registered on August 31st, and of those 10, 4 dropped out the day the contest began.

At 7am on August 31st, less than 24 hours into the contest, 5 contestants dropped out.  Those remaining after 7am were listed as:

• Mickey Swad, Mount Caramel 
• Pete Shepos, Shamokin & Curley Marchetti Mount Caramel
• Thomas Higgins, Excelsior & Jean Moll, Mount Carmel
• Bob Eckman, Shamokin & Barbara Millage, Centralia
• Dan Balses Pottsville and Gladys Burd, Elysburg
• Bill Chapman, Ashland & Dot Dundra, Brady
• Marie Ryan, Centralia & John Moll, Marion Heights
• Terry Yodez, Mount Caramel

Six couples remained in the competition, on Saturday September 2nd.

100 spectators visited each day, more than 1,000 in attendance [at a ticket price of 25 cents each] over the week long marathon.  The original prize of $50 [The equivalent of roughly $1200 in 2023] was being increased as the marathon continued.  

September 5th, 1933 - Three Couples Remained

Three couples remained, on Tuesday September 5th: Pete Shepos & Curlie Marchetti, Gladys Burd & Dan Balsis, Barbara Millage and Bob Eckman.

  Bill Chapman, "a solo skater who usually took it upon himself to arouse the crowd of spectators with his bag of acrobatic tricks was forced to drop out early this morning because of sore feet."  

On September 8th the Shamokin News Dispatch reported that the marathon was on it's 10th day, with only two couples "continuing the grind on rollers on the spacious Crystal Ballroom."

"Sixteen couples [other reports state 15, and some say 10] entered the marathon on wheels, but one by one the competing couples fell by the wayside, leaving but two couples in the competition during the last 48 hours"

The two couples remaining were Daniel Bolsis & Gladys Burd, and Robert Eckman and Barbara Millage.

According to the same article, 15 minute rests had been added to the program.  "Under the plan of the marathon, each couple skates for a given length of time and is then permitted a 15 minute rest."  The four remaining contestants were reported to be showing evidence of fatigue, but "are kept in good condition by nurses and other attendants"

The next day the same paper reported that Bob Eckman and Barbara Millage withdrew from the floor at noon on September 8th.

September 9th, 1933

On Sunday September 10th, at 9pm,  a ceremony was held, awarding "loving cups"  and the cash prizes to the winners.  News articles stated that the winners "would appear in the Victoria Theater at Shamokin"

The Danville Morning News reported that seven cash prizes and four loving cups were presented.  The prizes were listed as:

1st Prize - Daniel Balsis  and Gladys Burd

2nd Prize - Barbara Millage and Bob Eckman

3d Prize - Pete (Pretzels) Chepros and Margaret Marchette

4th Prize William Chapman, "who acted the part of the clown during the contest" 

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More About Knoebels Skating Rink

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In May of 1933, the Mount Caramel Item reported on the many improvements made to Knobel's Grove.  Included was:

"One of the largest and most modern ball rooms in their part of the state has been erected, where both dancing and roller skating will be conducted during the oncoming summer.  Some of the best orchestras from Reading and also local orchestras have been booked. Wednesday evenings modern dancing and Friday evenings modern and square dancing.  Skating will be conducted Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons and evenings.

Skating at Knoebels

1958 Park Map showing the location of the Skating Rink

Skating display in the back of the Coal Miners Museum.

The skating rink at Knoebels closed in 1983 [I'm told, due to "skyrocketing insurance rates"]. 

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READ MORE

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May 1933

August 1933

Those entered in the contest were:

[This list changed frequently!  This was the original list posted in the newspaper]

1. Pete Shepos, Shamokin, & Margaret Marchetti, Mount Caramel
2. Dan Balses, Pottsville, &  Juel Puketsa, Mount Caramel
3. Thomas Higgins, Excelsior & Jean Moll, Mount Caramel
4. May Yodis, Mount Caramel & Mike Mall, Keiser
5. Robert Echmon, Shamokin & Barbara Millage, Centralia
6. Curtis Berresford, William Penn & Gladys Bird, Elysburg [Gladys was one of the winners, but Curtis was not her partner]
7. John Mall, Keister & Marie Ryan, Centralia
8. Robert Loreman, Bloomsburg & Edith Fedan, Bloomsburg
9. [Dropped Out Day Of] "Dot" Dudra, Brady & Tony Augustine, Mount Caramel
10. Catherine Landy, Mount Caramel & Joe Pasterskit, Keiser
11.  [Dropped Out Day Of] Celia Durovich, Mount Caramel & Frank Pupo, Keiser
12. Paul Rega, Shamokin & Rachel Paulash, Bloomsburg
13. Ethel McGinley, Centralia & John Hepner, Brady [Ethel and Jose Pasterskie dropped out day of]
14. Johnny Scott, Mount Caramel & Celia Oelovich, Springfield
15. Joe Ostich, Kulpmont & Celia Karlocich, Mount Caramel

 The Four Couples Who Dropped Out were listed as: 

• Mickey Swad & Celia Durovich, [Listed above as registered with Frank Pupo]
• Bill Chapman and Alberta Suprinski, 
• Jose Pasterskie and Ethel McGinley [Ethel was originally listed with a different partner]
• Tony Augustine and Dot Dudra

The Roadside Coal Miners Memorial, Hegins Pa

 David A. Lucas' Independent Coal Miner Memorial

A roadside shrine located at 
320 east main street [Rt 25] Hegins Pa

Ghost Stories - An Index

 
An Index Of Ghost Stories In The Central Susquehanna Valley
If you look hard enough, there's a ghost story for every old structure in our area.  Count Nikolaus Ludwig Zinzendorf, an early Moravian missionary who explored this area in the mid-1700s, wrote in his diary that the area was given the name Otzniachson because “for it was here the Indians say the evil spirits have their seats and hold their revels.”

Here is where to find some of the tales, indexed by county:

Phantom Frightens South Williamsport, 1899 [& Allison's Grave]

Allison's Grave, Duboistown

"People living in South Williamsport are greatly agitated by a strange apparition which appears nightly - that of a headless woman dressed in long flowing robes"

According to the legend of Allison's Grave,  told in Weird Pennsylvania by Matt Lake, a World War II nurse from Duboistown was decapitated when her plane was shot down.  Her remains were sent home to be buried at a cemetery along Mosquito Valley Road.

The above newspaper article about the apparition,  however, is from an 1899 Bloomsburg newspaper - written 40 years before World War II began.  If  the headless apparition was Allison, she began her haunting before she was born.  Edna [Bogart] Allison, in truth, died in a plane crash in 1964, long after the end of the War.  And she had not been decapitated.

"Superstitious people believe the ghost is that of an unknown woman whose skeleton was found on the mountains back of Duboistown.  many are afraid to venture out after nightfall." reads the 1899 article. It appears to have been not uncommon in this area for people to dress up and "spook" for fun, and that is most likely what happened in 1899.  

As for Allison...

"According to the records, in June 1964, Edna Audrey [Boagart] Allison left Williamsport on a commercial airline flight to Phoenix, Ariz. From there, she traveled to Aspen, Col., where she boarded a Cessna 310 on Sunday, June 28, for a flight to Dallas, a stopover before her final destination in the Bahamas where she was scheduled to attend a business conference in Nassau .

Piloting the light twin-engine plane was William Evans, 38, of McAllen, Texas. In addition to Edna, the other passengers were Ed Gorman, 38, of Dallas, and Gus Theoklis, 29, of Los Angeles. When the plane failed to arrive in Dallas, the Colorado Civil Air Patrol searched the mountainous area near Aspen, but the plane could not be located. The search for the plane was made difficult due to heavy thunderstorms and high winds.

The plane was finally discovered  in October , by some hunters, on  a remote mountain  9 miles northeast of Aspen. Edna and the three other occupants were found, still buckled into their seats. The sheriff leading the recovery efforts stated that it appeared the plane had “plunged straight down into the mountainside.” 

Due to the badly decomposed condition of Edna’s body, her remains were cremated and returned to her family members: a brother, Howard Bogert, who also lived in Mosquito Valley, and her son, who was then an Army private assigned to Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

 Edna Allison’s ashes were spread at Mosquito Valley Cemetery where a small gravestone marked her memory"  That small stone was repeatedly vandalized, and has been replaced with a larger stone reading simply "Allison".

Although the "Allison's Grave" Story is nonsense, there IS an interesting story in the Williamsport Sun Gazette, March 1962, about Edna's brother in law, David Allison,  being bitten by a she-wolf in Rome.

The Genetti's Ghost

 

The Genetti's Ghost

According to the photographer, no one was in the room when this photo was taken in the old Lycoming [today Genetti] hotel.  When he developed the film, this girl appeared in the photo.

Employees say they have heard giggling, especially in the laundry room, and that its this child haunting the hotel.  Other stories frequently mention the "ghost on the 8th floor" (but this photo is in the lobby, not on the 8th floor, so perhaps that is another ghost)

Another story comes from a Wikipedia reference of "Allison Stoddard", daughter of the architect, falling down a laundry chute to her death and haunting the hotel ever since.  There's no record of William Stoddard ever having a daughter names Allison.  His two daughters, Virginia and Margaret, both lived well into their 80's.

One possible explanation for the photo:

"Because such an exposure would take a long time, the photographer would set his camera on a tripod, open the lens, and then perhaps go for a stroll. If someone happened to walk into the scene briefly and pause during this time, he or she might be recorded as an ethereal image, a “ghost.”

Read more about the Lycoming Hotel (today the Genetti) here:

https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2022/05/celebrating-100-years-genetti-hotel.html

The Susquehanna Mining & Smelting Co - Silver Hill, Sunbury

Was there silver in them there hills?  Not enough to keep the Susquehanna Mining & Smelting Co in business.  Six months after the company was the first to smelt Pennsylvania Ore into Lead, in Pennsylvania, they were headed to  Sheriff's Sale.

From Castle Grove To Villa Sacred Heart, In Danville PA

The original mansion at at the convent grounds.  The enormous stone St Cyril's was built in 1929,  behind this mansion 

 “Castle Grove", or the Bennet the mansion was a  Tuscan villa

 built in 1867 by John Grove, Sr. for his two sons, Michael and John Grove, Jr..

Sulouff Bros Shoe Store

 
Sulouff Bros. Shoe Store, 229 Market Street Sunbury Pa

J. Arthur Sulouff, and Nevin Sulouff.  Sister Pearl was also involved in the operations, particularly after J.A. opened a new store in Lewisburg Pa.  The three were the children of Oliver Sulouff, and grandchildren of Jacob Sulouff, who had also been a shoemaker.

Wynken, Blynken & Nod Fountain, Wellsboro PA

 
The “Wynken, Blynken and Nod” sculpture, by Mabel Landrum Torrey,  depicts a scene from the 1889 poem, “Dutch Lullaby” by author Eugene Field, a one-time resident of Denver, Colorado. Wynken, Blynken and Nod are three children fishing at nighttime in the open sea… in a wooden, floating shoe.  

 In 1938,  Senator Fred W. Bailey  commissioned a replica of the Colorado statue to be presented to  his hometown of Wellsboro, Pennsylvania in memory of his wife Elizabeth Cameron Bailey.

The Lincoln Door In Wellsboro Pa

 
This door on the Shearer House in Wellsboro PA was a gift from Abraham Lincoln.

"This door was given by Abraham Lincoln to Dr. and Mrs. Shearer when they bought this house in 1858. They were close friends with Lincoln when they lived in Springfield, Illinois, and he gave them the door off of another building. This is a site on the self guided Walking Tour of Historic Wellsboro, and brochures are found at the Chamber of Commerce at 114 Main Street. The door is on private property but is easily seen from the sidewalk.

Road Trip To Ithaca - Wells Falls & The Van Nattas Pumping Station

Wells Falls & The Abandoned Van Nattas Pumping Station

Located along six mile creek at Giles Street, Ithaca Pa

Roughly: 42.433724, -76.485033

The 2023 12 Foot Skeleton Tour

Where To See The 12 Foot Skeletons [And Other Halloween Displays]

Happy October!  The 12 Foot Skeletons have invaded the North Central Susquehanna Valley!  We've been going on Skeleton viewing trips this month - like going to see Christmas lights, but Halloween Displays instead.  Spotify has some great Halloween Playlists for the drive, and there are some INCREDIBLE displays this year!  If you know of others, please comment here, or on the facebook page for Valley Girl Views!

I'm going to list them first - if the location is linked, it will take you to a facebook post with more photos, or a video.  Then below the list,  I'll post a bunch of the photos from our tour so far

Turbotville Lewis Joint School

 

Turbotville Elementary in 2022

I haven't compiled the history of the school yet - but I did take photos last year, in preparation for doing so.  I'll come back to the history at a later time.  

 In August of 2023, all Warrior Run Elementary School Students were moved into the brand new Warrior Run Elementary School located behind the High School.