Summer 2014 E-Newsletter Now Available

Our newest E-Newsletter is now available, with more information than ever before!  Check out our upcoming events, learn about the newest ruins of the Gold Mine Settlement that were discovered on an Susquehanna Appalachian Trail Club hike, and read about Franklin Putt, trackman for the Schuylkill & Susquehanna Branch in the Summer 2014 issue. 

Remember to Mark Your Calendars for our next two upcoming events!  On Thursday, July 17, Brandy M. Watts Martin will be presenting Stony Valley: A Haunting History for the West Hanover Township Historical Society near Harrisburg, and on Saturday, July 19, at Comics & Paperbacks Plus in Palmyra, PA, the Stony Valley 3-D Model will be on display, where you can "Step Into History" no matter what the weather may be! More details of both events are in the newsletter.

Old E-Newsletters can found in the E-Newsletter Archives.

"The Last Days" Program

PLEASE NOTE: The Sunday Program "The Last Days" for the Capital Area Genealogical Society in Linglestown is cancelled. It will be rescheduled for later this year. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Wood Frog Watch

The sounds of spring arrived upon the warm breezes of this past week as the Spring Peepers’ chorus rose from the marshy recesses of the farm fields.  Toads and Spotted Salamanders carefully crossed the roads in between the tires of passing cars, and the North American Newt swam happily along the sunny banks of a nearby lake.  Whether you live in town or are just simply driving down a country road, I’m sure you noticed flowerbeds of blooming crocuses and daffodils, and maybe even the tulips and flags (irises) emerging from the ground.  Simply put, it sure sounds and feels like spring! 

In search of another sign of spring, my father and I ventured down Boxcar Road this morning, seeking the chorus of the Wood Frogs rising up from the strip mines and vernal ponds along the road.  We were greeted with a muddy, rutted road due to the present lumbering operations to the north of Boxcar Road, and the passing rain showers, but a little rain should not scare off the frogs.  Corner after corner we turned, hearing nothing but the silence of The Great Wilderness. 

The strip mines are still empty of frogs, but a few puddles in the road spoke a different story.  Below are photographs of some creature’s eggs, who may have been hoping the rain showers would continue.  Do you know whose eggs they are? 

 

TRAIL UPDATES

Boxcar Road – Although stones have amended the drive into the parking lot, be prepared for some muddy ruts on Boxcar Road due to the current lumbering operations. 

Stone Tower Trail – The log-cable crossing over Clarks Creek near the Stone Tower Trailhead no longer has its cable.  Please be prepared to find another way to cross.  (Reported March 29, 2014; Reported April 6, 2014)

If you have any trail condition updates you'd like us to share, please email them. 

Spring 2014 E-Newsletter Available

Our newest E-Newsletter is available now!  Check out upcoming events, discover Stony Valley Daily Life Researcher Seth A. Martin's newest project, and find out how Schuylkill & Susquehanna Railroad Historian Brandy M. Watts Martin's family is connected to Stony Valley in the Spring 2014 issue. 

Remember to Mark Your Calendars for our next event on April 22, 2014 in Palmyra, PA where you can "Step Into History" no matter what the weather may be!  More details in the newsletter.  Old E-Newsletters can found in the E-Newsletter Archives. 

Discover the Former Town of Rausch Gap

Rausch Gap

By Brandy M. Watts Martin

Tuesday, March 11, 2014 at 7:00 p.m.

Richland Community Library, Richland, PA

Join us at the Richland Community Library, 111 East Main St., Richland, PA, to discover Rausch Gap, once the largest community in Stony Valley with over 1,000 residents during its heyday.  The town included workers' housing, public buildings and businesses, along with the only white cemetery in Stony Valley.  This informative 30-minute presentation shows what the ruins of today once were in the bustling mid-nineteenth century Anthracite coal mining and railroading town. 

Find out more about the Presentation.