How Cold Is It? The Saga Continues

The polar vortex came and went last week, but not before setting off a winter weather Trailheads throwdown. I posted a photo last week shared by the folks at Pennsbury Manor showing ice on the Delaware River. From the opposite corner of the state, I received a tongue-in-cheek note from Linda Bolla at the Erie Maritime Museum and Flagship Niagara, a frequent contributor to Trailheads. With her permission, I’m including an excerpt and a couple of Linda's photos:

Top: Ice Fishermen, Erie Bay
Bottom: Agitators keep the ice away from Niagara's hull
Photos by Linda Bolla, January 2014

"Oh, Amy – do you really think that puny ice sheet at Pennsbury Manor impresses anyone up here in the great northwest (insert coyote howl)? Erie has led the pack all this year as #1 Snowiest US City…and as I write, we’re still well ahead of Buffalo, despite their latest efforts to unseat us….We Erie folks all know in our hearts that when Paul Allman Siple (see PHMC historical marker in front of the Erie Maritime Museum) devised the “Wind Chill Index,” he was not thinking about his adventures with Admiral Byrd in Antarctica, but rather was fondly remembering his boyhood in Erie, walking to school on a typical winter’s day.

"The U.S. Brrrrrr-ig Niagara would be held fast in the ice were it not for strategically placed agitators keeping the water moving alongside her hull. The crew is working diligently on off-season maintenance tasks, often outdoors. Even as I write, we are experiencing a bit of a heat wave (38° F), which has not totally discouraged ice fishermen, who prefer it a bit brisker. Erie Bay had frozen all the way over earlier this week, when temps were closer to -10° F, and will refreeze next week."

Thanks, Linda, for the response. I am hopeful that this does not escalate into a full-on Trails of History [censored] contest. Unless it would increase readership—then I’m all for it.

Drake Well Museum’s Mobile Energy Education Training Unit (MEET-U) received some good news coverage this week when it visited the Learning Enrichment Center in Warren County.

Upcoming programs:
Friday, Jan. 17 (i.e. tonight)

• 3rd in the Burg, opening reception for the Susquehanna Art Museum Doshi Gallery’s new exhibit, “Lost World/Found World,” State Museum of Pennsylvania, 6-8 pm, admission free

Saturday, Jan. 18

• Knox Mine Disaster Program, Anthracite Heritage Museum, 2 pm
• Fraktur and Ephrata’s ABC’s, learn basics of fraktur calligraphy and create your own art based on Historic Ephrata Cloister’s collection (registration required, please call 717/733-6600 to check on availability)

Sunday, January 19

• Fireside Tales, Daniel Boone Homestead, 2 pm, $2 suggested donation per child

Monday, January 20

• Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania open, 9 am-5 pm (all other Trails of History sites closed)

Saturday, January 25

• Folk Art & Friendship: Make a heart-shaped tin basket, Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum (registration required)