The One Room Schoolhouse On Hill School Road, Lewisburg

 I passed this school /home while looking for my great grandmothers homestead.  It's located on Hill School Road, so it may be named the Hill Schoolhouse?  Or it could be Hill School Road simply because there was a school, on a hill.  I do not know.

Mary Belle Lontz wrote about one room schoolhouses, if I remember correctly, there may be a book at the Union County Historical Society with more information.

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An Index of one room school houses in the Susquehanna Valley

https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2019/05/one-room-schoolhouses-index.html

When 4 Lewisburg Inmates Crashed A Garbage Truck Through the Prison Gates & Held My Great Grandmother Hostage

On Saturday morning, August 10th, at 9:30 am,four inmates at the Lewisburg Penitentiary jumped a fence, stole a garbage truck, crashed it through the gates, and drove to a wooded area near my great grandmothers house in Forest Hill area. After driving the truck into the woods, they went to my Grammy Mook's house where they tied everyone up, and stole Uncle Franks car to continue with their escape.  

The inmates, Richard  McCoy Jr, Melvin Walker, Larry  Bagely, and Joseph Havel, were sitting on a bench in the recreation area that morning.  A security guard and an inmate drove a garbage truck into the nearby industrial area.  The area was surrounded by a six foot cyclone fence with 4 strands of barbed wire at the top, separating it from the recreational area.

When the guard got out of the truck to inspect the area, the inmates, armed with knives,  jumped the fence and overpowered the inmate who was driving the truck.
The inmates then commandeered the garbage truck, and crashed it through the gates to make their escape.

Guards in the tower fired seven shots at the truck, but the garbage compacter was 4 foot higher than the cab, and the shots bounced off the compacter.  The guards attempted to chase the truck, but they could not drive the cars over the gates that were now laying on the ground. There was one guard on patrol outside of the gate, but he could not cut them off in time.

The windshield of the truck was broken when it crashed through the first gate, but none of the prisoners were injured.

My great aunt Geraldine Whittle, and her husband Frank, were visiting my great grandmother at her home in Forest Hill Pa.  Grammy Mook, Aunt Geraldine, and Catherine Fladd, my great grandmothers housekeeper, were sitting in the car in the driveway, waiting for Uncle Frank to take them shopping. For some reason I do not quite understand (but do not doubt is accurate) Uncle Frank was siphoning gas from the car to use in the lawnmower, before they left.

Two men in "GI Fatigues" approached Uncle Frank and tole him they wanted to borrow his car, to which he replied "You're kidding." At that point, two additional men appeared, with knives hanging from their belts. Still thinking they were kidding, Uncle Frank asked "What is this?  An initiation for some sorority?"  One of the men laughed.

The four convicts ushered them all into the house, and tied them up.  They asked if there were any guns in the house, and Uncle Frank replied "Why would I have guns when I am from Philadelphia?".  (Uncle Frank and Aunt Geraldine lived in Philadelphia and were only visiting in Forest Hill at the time.)

The convicts chose not to take his word, and made a quick search of the house, before escaping in Uncle Frank's 1970 blue ford.  They drove off towards Stonehaven Road, which was the road they used when they crashed through the gate of the prison.

Uncle Frank had seen the garbage truck pass the house, and had thought it was strange, as it wasn't something normally seen on those back roads.  The truck was found in a heavily wooded area about a fourth of a mile from my great grandmothers home.

My great grandmother, Mary Mook, was quoted in the local newspaper as saying  "They never raised their voices, or said anything nasty.  They were just so nice."  One of the escapees made conversation, telling her that he had three children.  He placed glasses of water on the table for the women, and allowed Uncle Frank to take his heart pill, even offering him water to do so. Although the convicts made no threats of harm, they did say "We don't want to hurt you.  But don't rile us, we're long-termers"  They cut the telephone wires, and took Uncle Frank's wallet, but they returned both his wallet and his money before they left.   "And they didn't even tie us tight!" said Grammy Mook. 

Uncle Frank was able to untie himself before the convicts had left the driveway. 
Aunt Geraldine told Uncle Frank, "You just wait here until they leave!"  But he didn't wait long, he ran to the home of Cleon Snyder, about 1/4 of a mile down Stonehaven rd, to call the state police.
"He didn't even bother to untie us!" laughed Aunt Geraldine.  "We had to unloosen ourselves while he was gone."

The local newspaper reported that there was about $250 worth of camera equipment in the car, some new fishing equipment, and baby gifts to be taken back to Philadelphia, and that there was a wooden carrier strapped to the top of the car.  Uncle Frank's car was recovered by police in New Bern, NC.  All of the personal items were still in the car, untouched.  The car did need some body repairs, and needed a new heater installed, but his insurance paid for all of that.  

This was the first escape from the Pen since the Nolan brothers escape 20 years earlier.  On September 10 1952, two Nolan brothers, accompanied by Elmer Schuer, broke out of the prison, taking a hostage on Penitentiary Road.  The hostage later escaped.  The Nolan brothers stabbed a man at Bucknell University and stole his car, before being killed in a gun battle in New York City.  Schuer surrendered to the NY police. 

On The Run
Although the newspapers reported two other cars were stolen in the area after the escape,  Uncle Franks ford was driven to North Carolina.

Three of the  men robbed a bank at Pollacksville, North Carolina on Tuesday August 13th, 1974, three days after their escape.  The fourth man was driving the get away car.

Havel and Bagley surrendered tonight after a brief gunfight with the police in a wooded area nearby. A hunt continued for the other two. 

Walker and McCoy hid out in  Wolf's Snare section of Virginia Beach, a quiet, middle‐class residential neighborhood, from September to November of 1974.

In early November 1974, FBI agents located Walker and McCoy in a home in Virginia Beach, VA.  The agents watched the house for two days, and when both men left, they stationed agents inside and outside of the cottage to wait for the convicts to return.  When McCoy came to the front door, an agent identified himself, and McCoy went for his gun.  He got one shot off before the agent returned fire and McCoy was killed.


Walker took off when, but agents stopped his car within a few blocks, and arrested him.

The Prisoners

Richard F. McCoy Jr was 32 years old when he escaped.  He was serving a 45 year team for "Air Piracy", and was described as a convicted skyjacker. McCoy gained national notoriety in 1972 when hp hijacked a United Airlines plane, demanded add got $500,000 and then bailed out over Provo, Utah.

McCoy, who grew up in Cove City North Carolina, was a former US Green Beret, and Mormon Sunday School Teacher.  In November, FBI agents tracked McCoy down in Virginia, where McCoy was killed when he shot at agents.

Melvin Dale Walker, age 35 in 1974, was from Morely Missouri.
Former Ten Most Wanted Fugitive #327: On November 9, 1974: Walker was apprehended in Virginia Beach, Virginia, after entering a house staked out by FBI agents. He attempted to escape by car but was arrested.

Joseph W. Havel, from Philadelphia,  was age 60 at the time of his escape.  He was described by prison guards as a loner, and the guards were most surprised by him being involved in the escape.  Havel was convicted in 1967, one of 4 men involved in the robbery of an armored car.  While serving time for that robbery, he escaped from the state prison, robbed a bank in Reading on March 8 1972, and was caught, convicted, and sentenced to ten years time  at the Lewisburg Pen.

Larry L. Bagley, from Des Moine Iowa,  was age 36 at the time of his escape. He was serving 20 years for bank robbery.

Bagley, Havel, and Walker had all attempted escape before, and had had additional years added to their sentences for their attempts.

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https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/p/history.html

When The Lewisburg Farmers Market Was The Auction

Located along fairground road, about two miles west of Lewisburg, is a weekly farmers market held on Wednesdays from 8am to 3pm.  With stands inside and out, you can find everything from shirts to freshly smoked bacon, from gourmet cupcakes to plants for your garden.   

Jack Watts Jalopy Track, Mazeppa

The Jack Watts Jalopy track in Mazeppa was  was on the property of Mr Watts and was either a 1/4 or 1/3 mile, depending on who showed up to plow that day.

Found on a racetrack message board

A 2016 article in the Sunbury Daily Item mentions that track, and states:

"The last track in the area was Jack Watts Jalopy Track near the twin bridges in Mazeppa.  The track was either 1/4th or 1/3rd of a mile,depending on what was plowed out of the fields on race day.  Originally built on the side of the hill, it was relocated to a flatter area when a car rolled the length of the track down the hill."

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Red Top School, Lewisburg PA

The Red Top School

285 Hospital Drive, Lewisburg Pa

Former pupil recalls teacher 

By John G. Huckaby [1978]

LEWISBURG John Henry Follmer was unlike any teacher I ever had before or ever had since. In fact, he may have been unlike any teacher that anyone ever had. 

"Hen" Follmer was from a different era, the era of the one-room school house. If he taught today, he probably would fit right in - with the new emphasis on the basics of education. While "Hen" taught the basics he also taught about life - or at least as he viewed it. 

"Hen" taught me during' the 50's in a one-room school house known as the Red Top school located in Kelly Township northwest of the Evangelical Community Hospital, Lewisburg. The school still stands, only several hundred yards from the Kelly Township Elementary School, built in the late 1950s. But "Hen" is gone. "Hen" didn't run the conventional class because there wasn't a conventional class in the Red Top School.

One of the first things that had to be done was the stoking of the stove with coal. The coal stove had more to do with school than providing heat during the winter. You see, it provided the heat for the cooking the hot meal that "Hen" insisted was good for growing students. It proved ample for heating soup and baking potatoes. "Hen" also was a great believer in the daily newspaper as a classroom teaching tool.

Each day he would read the Harrisburg Patriot to the class -' from page 1 through the comics at the end. The newspaper also provided a great way to get the teacher off the subject into a long talk about his travels - travels he made every summer to visit relatives in Chicago. He always described the "Loop," and for years I dreamed of someday seeing the "Loop" (the loop made by elevated trains in Chicago's downtown). I finally got to see the Loop on my way to Navy boot camp at Great Lakes. 

Recess in the fall also meant one thing - football - and not touch football. Although he didn't insist, he did encourage the students to play tackle football  and he always threw in tidbits about, ho he played at Lock Haven, when; football players "really" played the game.

 Of course, anyone who ever went to one-room schoolhouse will tell you! about the outhouses. They were present at Red Top and they were cold in the winter. 

 He wasn't the world's greatest disciplinarian but order was always' maintained. I don't ever remember his swatting someone on the seat of the pants, but then that kind of punishment has vanished from the schools"

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 https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2019/05/one-room-schoolhouses-index.html

 https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2019/04/sights-to-see.html

https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/p/history.html

The Factory Covered Bridge In White Deer

Factory Bridge, also known as Horsham Bridge, is a historic wooden covered bridge in White Deer Township, Union County, Pennsylvania. It is a 60-foot-long (18 m), King and Queen truss bridge, constructed in 1880, and repaired in 1954 and 1976. It crosses the White Deer Creek

From the 1977 Nomination Form For The Register of Historic Places:

The Factory Bridge crosses White Deer Creek in White Deer Township approximately one mile from the village of White Deer.  This covered bridge has a combination multi King and Queen Trusses.  The single span of 60 feet was built in 1880 and has a roadbed of 16 feet wide.  It is in good condition and has been repaired in 1954 and 1976.

This bridge spands White Deer Creek west of the hamlet of White Deer.  It is named for a former wollens mill which stood near by, and took its power from the creek.  The factory burned a century ago, but a  cluster of  houses remains a short distance away on the old White Deer Turnpike (County Road 59031).  Is is the only remaining covered bridge on White Deer Creek.

The bridge is now in good condition and has been recently painted.

The Woolen Mill Fire

Lewisburg Journal January 12 1928

See also - The Factory School, One Room Schoolhouse - 

https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-factory-school.html

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More Covered Bridges :

https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-covered-bridges-index.html

The Alvira Bunkers

The Alvira Bunkers

150 Storage Bunkers were built on land the government took from families in Alvira, and surrounding areas, of Lycoming County.  TNT was stored in the bunkers for less than a year, before the operation ended.  The bunkers still remain today, many on lands owned by the Pennsylvania Game Commission, which is open to hikers.

Quick Notes:

• How To Get There - From US 15, take PA 44 West for 4.3 miles and turn right on Mill Road. Go 1.4 miles and turn right onto Alvira Road.  
• My Pictures Of The Stone Church, Christmas 2018
• More Pictures of the Bunkers & ruins in the Game Lands
• A Documentary - Surrender!  The Sudden Death Of Alvira (View Trailer here)
• For More Information - The Montgomery Area Historical Society
• Photos and Stories Of Alvira, before the bunkers
• Photos of the Stone Church Cemetery, Memorial Day 2023

Established in 1825 as Wisetown, the town once located near present day Elimsport & Montgomery, now known as "The Ordnance" , was renamed Alvira in the 1860's.  By 1942, the town included schools, a gas station, a blacksmith shop, and a church, along with other businesses, and had a population of over 100.

Less then 100 years after it was named Alvira, in 1942, the War Department acquired, mostly by eminent domain, all 8,400 acres.

The Last Easter Service At The Old Stone Church, 1942

On March 7 1942, residents gathered at the Christ Lutheran Church, where they were told that the government needed their land for the war effort, but that they would be able to repurchase it after the war ended.

Map Of Alvira in 1868

Residents were given six weeks to leave their property. Just six weeks to pack up, and move everything they owned, including livestock. 

  "Betty Yoder remembers she and her brother, Nevin, driving their cows from Alvira to a farm the family bought in the Limestoneville area. “We brought them across the bridge at Allenwood. The plank bottom made a noise. I used to dream about that bridge. It made a racket,” she said. They continued through Watsontown with the cattle, walking behind them to their destination."  https://www.dailyitem.com/news/remembering-alvira-a-pennsylvania-village-lost/article_32f809e4-8d7f-11e7-a3fb-d3f839c2ac8d.html

"My grandmother's mother was actually carried off her front porch and her house was torn down by bulldozers," says historian Paul C. Metzeger." https://www.pahomepage.com/news/hidden-history-bunkers-of-alvira/844987687

 Within a few short months, everything but the church was gone.  The homes and structures were all burnt to the ground.  All that remains are a few cemeteries, and the stone church where residents learned they were losing their land.  The church is on the federal prison property, and is only open to the public for special events such as the Christmas service.
(See photos of the Stone Church Christmas Service in 2018 here)

 A petition was filed in March of 1942 in the federal courthouse in Scranton, seeking the right of immediate condemnation of 7,604 acres of the White Deer Valley, and possession of all properties within the Ordnance Works as well as other properties outside of the Ordnance fences. The petition was granted almost immediately.  Within a week , workers had begun constructing The Pennsylvania Ordnance Works.

The site was likely chosen for it's proximity to the Reading Railroad, which made it easy to transport materials to the facility.  It was also remote enough to keep the activities somewhat private and out of view.  The tract was large enough for the 150 bunkers planned to store the TNT, with an appropriate safety radius around each one.  If a bunker exploded, it needed to be placed far enough away from the other bunkers that it did not cause another bunker to explode, preventing a domino effect. 

Nitric Acid Plant, at the Ordnance

 Another consideration may have been the proximity to the Susquehanna River - which could provide the water needed for the TNT plant.  A river pump house and dam were constructed on the east side of the highway, near the river.

150 storage bunkers, 17 miles of railroad track, 55 miles of roads, and 300 buildings replaced what was once the town of Alvira.

Each bunker held 250,000 pounds of TNT, which had been shipped in in wooden crates.

The need for TNT production had been overestimated, and the entire operation ceased 11 months after it began.  Operations  ceased on January 14th 1944.

In 1944, the Susquehanna Ordnance took over the land, which became a munitions storage and transfer depot. No longer a top secret operation, dignitaries and local journalists were sometimes invited in for tours.

Williamsport Mayor Leo C. Williamson is shown here in 1948, at Bunker 98.

Two dozen bombs were stored at the Depot, including the one shown here, with the depots commanding officer Major Lundhal, Captain Severaid, and Lieutenant Elsaiss standing on top of it.

In  1950,  half of the land was given to the Allenwood Federal Prison Complex.

March 1952, Sun Gazette

In 1952, it was considered, but found unsuitable, as a location for an Air Force base.

2023

The four silos housed anthracite coal that was brought daily to the ordnance works from the Ashland-Mount Carmel area by train

Only about 500 acres were ever sold back to their former owners. 
4,200 acres deeded to the US Bureau Of Prisons (This is where the prison complex, and the landfill are now located)
3,018 acres were given to the Game Commission 
220 acres were given to Lycoming County (a golf course is now on this land)
400 acres were given to Williamsport Area Community College (Now PennTech)

2023 [Possibly the old pump station?]

We drove past these ruins in 2023, on our way to the Memorial Day Service at the Old Stone Church.  This area is  gated  off and not accessible to the public on a regular basis, only for special events such Memorial Day.

Photo from 2023

Photo from 2023

The Stone Church, 2023

Today the future of the church is uncertain. Located on the Federal Prison property, services had been held a couple of times each year, hosted by the Montgomery Historical Society. In 2023, the building was determined to be unsafe, it needs repairs to the main tower stonework, and no one is permitted inside.

2023 Statement regarding the status of the church, from the Montgomery Historical Society

The Delaney Family, victims of notorious axe murderer William Hummel, are buried in the Cemetery at the Stone Church.  

The Stone reads:
Oliver D. Delaney Died Aug 13 1899
His Wife Sarah Frances
Children Johnny W., Olive F, Florence H.
The wife and three children met death at the hands of Wm. Hummel, The 2nd Husband Nov. 15 1899
On November 25 1899 the bodies of Sarah, John, and Olive were buried in the Stone Church Cemetery in Allenwood, where Oliver Delaney was already interred. The victims were buried at the tax payers expense, and as such, the overseers of Clinton township seized Hummels house and five acres of land, selling it at auction to recoup the expense. By March of 1901 the residents of Clinton Township had collected enough money to erect a grave marker for the Delaney family. The marble monument was dedicated on Memorial Day.

Read more here:
https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2021/03/william-hummel-lycoming-countys.html

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The Bunkers Today

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Inside one of the bunkers today

The land was never returned because it could not be - it is too contaminated.  Making TNT is a "sloppy process", and that land is too contaminated to ever be farmed again.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission Map shows the locations of the bunkers, which are still on the property today:

Each "S" is a bunker.

Today some of the bunkers are overgrown.  

Some are full of trash.  

Some are locked, but most are open.

 

(Molly is wearing her "I'm not a Rabbit" vest, hiking during hunting season)

Looking into one of the bunkers

It's Not Radioactive Here

Although recently discovered papers link this area to the Manhattan project, and radioactive waste was stored here, there are no traces of radiation in this area.

"In May 2011, the state Department of Environmental Protection's Bureau of Radiation performed gamma radiation scans on roadways on state game land. It later did the same on two igloos on the game land that had been identified as holding the uranium shavings in barrels.

The scans found no indication of uranium or other gamma-emitting radioactive elements above the natural background levels, the report states. The Bureau of Prisons did not permit scans of two igloos on its land, DEP said."
https://www.pennlive.com/midstate/2015/03/historian_confirms_radioactive.html

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This event is over, but the movie is still available for purchase  - or you can borrow it from the Union County Public Library.

See the Documentary this week-end at the Campus Theatre in Lewisburg, Followed by a talk at the Barnes & Noble Book Store Across The Street https://www.facebook.com/116216865062937/photos/a.814627305221886/2785036518180945/?type=3&theater

ALSO - 

"To add to the excitement of the Alvira documentary showing day, March 31, Steve and Martha Huddy, the “SURRENDER!” filmmakers, and Paul Metzger, author of “Deeds of the Valley: The Land that Became the Ordnance” will be holding a discussion regarding Alvira in the 3rd floor community room in the Barnes and Noble across the street from the Campus Theatre in Lewisburg. It will be held immediately following the showing of the film, at approximately 2pm. This discussion is FREE and open to the public!"

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Places to Hike

https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2019/05/places-to-hike.html

Find More Posts About Our Local History Here:

https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/p/history.html