Vol 18 No. 7 - 30 September, 2014

1 September we attended a Barn Warming Party.  Friends of Joe, Michele and Baillie have a dairy farm and syrup business, and they built a new barn.  Baillie has been working with the Meyers family for two years, helping with the calves and with making maple syrup in late winter.

Meyer Farm.

(cow mailbox)

Meyers is a “Dairy of Distinction”.
Website: The Northeast Dairy Farm Beautification Program recognizes the hard work and dedication of dairy owner / operators who have attractive, well-kept farms and promote a good dairy industry image. The Dairy of Distinction Program is based on the concept that attractive farmsteads enhance consumer confidence in the dairy industry. The award also recognizes the hard work and efforts of all Northeast dairy farmers.

This is a large dairy operation – the new barn will hold 300 cows.  It is not completed yet, but should be operational by this winter.

We had a lot of fun, Jim was excited that some of his old neighbors and friends also attended.  Baillie took me on a tour of the farm in the four wheeler.

I had a lesson in the making of maple syrup a couple of years ago when Baillie tapped the trees around their house, and they boiled the sap and made maple syrup in small batches.  Meyers have a large ‘sugar shanty’, tankers for collecting sap from other farms, a large iron fire container with large stainless trays for sap boiling and evaporating.  Syrup is put into kegs for shipping to Vermont where it is labeled “Vermont Maple Syrup”.  (Ssssh – that is a secret!)

Sugar shack and maple trees.

Maple trees tapped and sap collection via hoses.

Went past the pumpkin patch (another sideline), the sweet corn and cow or ‘field’ corn (sweet corn for people and field corn for animal consumption, mainly for cows and hogs).

Definition: Corn raised for human consumption is sweeter, with relatively less tough kernels.  When raised to feed animals the focus is on maximum growth.  Longer growing allows the sugar in corn to convert to starch.  A variety is used for cornmeal, corn chips, etc.  The cow corn is harvested at the start of Fall season, kernels stored in the large cylindrical silos for feed during winter months.

Pumpkin patch and corn.

Our rig in Joe and Michele's driveway.

On Tuesday, 2 September, Jim and I delivered to a New York Environmental Conservation Service location at Barker, NY near Lake Ontario.

Internet:  AES (at Barker), is a 675 megawatt (MW) electric generating facility. The primary fuels combusted by the main boiler are coal and petroleum coke (petcoke). Associated with the boiler is a coal handling system (unloading and conveying coal and petroleum coke, etc.), a No. 2 fuel oil and kerosene oil system (tanks and piping) which is used for startup and flame stabilization, a limestone handling system (unloading and conveying etc.).

The matting we delivered, looked like rolls of wool fleece, they will be used to contain coal dust.

Put the truck in the garage Tuesday afternoon for new brakes and drums on the trailer, and a vibration dampener on the truck engine.  The vibration dampener was recommended to be replaced when the bull gear was replaced in July.

Pumpkin beer is available at the supermarket in Attica.

The town of Attica display the players on the High School football team on a town building – very proud of the “Blue Devils”.

Attica High School football players.

Loaded Thursday at General Electric Transportation in Erie, Pennsylvania.  Interesting place – they build locomotive engines. We picked up a gearbox for a train.

Delivered it the next day to Gearbox Express in Mukwonago, Wisconsin.

Erie, Pennsylvania to Mukwonago, Wisconsin, a train gearbox.

Saturday, 6 September we loaded in Mendota, Illinois - famous for its Corn Festival – held each August, therefore lots of corn fields!  We loaded at Advanced Drainage Systems.  They make all sizes of plastic pipe.  Another truck also loaded on Saturday, Steve loaded the smaller containers of moulds, and we had a 20 foot shipping container that had a large pipe mould inside it.

Mendota, Illinois to Winter Garden, Florida - coming out of the fuel island.

We ran with the other driver, Steve for the trip to Florida.

Had dinner at a BBQ place in Monteagle, Tennessee, and went with him to the 75 Chrome Shop in Wildwood, Florida.  We have not been in there for many years.

75 Chrome Shop in Wildwood, Florida.

Truck bling.

Delivered at Advanced Drainage Systems in Winter Garden, Florida (west of Orlando) on Monday morning, 8 September, then to the house in Daytona Beach.

Jimmy was in town again, and also Buffalo area friends, Bob and Patty Mitchell and two of their sons, Brendan and Kevin.  It was Bob and Patty’s 25^th Wedding Anniversary (Jim and I attended their wedding in 1989), and Kevin’s 21^st birthday = much celebrating to be done!

Monday night we got together at DJ’s Deck in Port Orange.

LtoR: Bob, Patty, Jim, Lesley, Brendan, Jimmy and Kevin at DJ's Deck.

Working boats in the Halifax River near DJ's Deck.

Wednesday, Jim, Jimmy and the Mitchell’s joined a full day fishing Charter with the Critter Fleet out of Ponce Inlet.  A big day for them, and they caught lots of fish!!  I met them at the jetty when they got back and they took their fish to the restaurant Hidden Treasure’s next door (we were there last month with Lis and Harvey).  The chef will cook your own fish however you want it – fried, Cajun, blackened, lemon pepper, etc.  With your own fish, and a choice of two side dishes they charged $8, which was an excellent meal and deal.  Another evening of laughs! (Several fish meals went into our freezer as well.)

Big grandstand expansion going on at the Daytona International Speedway!

Jim and I left Daytona Beach early Thursday morning and went to Blount Island, one of the ports north of Jacksonville.  I took these two photos of the Blount Island docks when we drove over the bridge.  Turned out to be exactly where we went to load.

Blount Island ports, Florida.

It was September 11, the thirteenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the USA.  Took us a long time to get through security, even with our credentials.  Then waited for two trucks to be loaded ahead of us, then it was lunch time and we got in position to load when we were notified that the load cancelled because it showed it was radioactive.  The two trucks that were loaded ahead of us had stopped at a recycling centre for inspection and they discovered it.  Mid-afternoon we started looking for another load, and found one in Savannah and loaded at GAF roofing on Friday morning, 12 September.

Hot and humid, a long time to load and tarp.  Easy driving weekend though, about 1300 miles (2100 kms).

We had not been through St. Louis for a while - always enjoy seeing the "gateway to the west" Arch and the Mississippi River.

There was a cold front covering the northern part of the country.  Sunday morning – it was 39 F (4 C) when we got up! A big shock!  Experienced a lovely sunrise over the cornfields of Missouri.

Leaving the Flying J Travel Plaza.

Corn, fog, sunrise.

Arrived at a truckstop outside Waterloo, Iowa mid-Sunday morning, 14 September.  The football season was underway and Jim wanted to find somewhere to watch the game.  A two mile (three kms) walk to “The Bar” in Raymond, Iowa.

The Bar in Raymond, Iowa.

We watched the Minnesota Vikings and New England Patriots game, and it had score updates for all games on the ticker tape on the bottom of the screen, so Jim was able to see the progression of the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins game, and the Buffalo Bills won! Had a nice time, talking to the locals, then walked back to the truckstop.

Delivered the rolled roofing to a roofing company in Waterloo, Iowa and reloaded on the other side of Waterloo at Roskamp Champion. 
Another truck loaded ahead of us, he loaded six crates and we just had one crate and two pieces of a cooling system.  Required a smoke tarp on the front.

On Wednesday, 17 September, we delivered at Nash Johnson & Son Feed Mill near Rose Hill, North Carolina.

Delivering at Big Ed silo at Nash Johnson & Son Feed Mill, Rose Hill, North Carolina.

Internet: A large multi-state poultry integrator. Poultry integrators hire farms to raise chickens. Farmers are given the chicks, chicken food, vaccinations and support for the chicken’s health.  Integrators visit the farms to check on the chickens.  The birds are returned to the integrators after they are grown or after six weeks if they will be used for egg production.

Our load was part of a 40 foot cooling conveyor system for the chicken feed part of the operation.  Big Ed, the grain silo dominated the skyline!

Trivia: Rose Hill, North Carolina has the 'World's Largest Frying Pan' - we drove past it!

North to Spring Hope, North Carolina and loaded three large rolls of conveyor belt at Belt Concepts. They were interesting – making all kinds of conveyor belts.

These rolls are 'seconds' and will be recycled - all kinds of conveyor belt materials.

Getting the tarp out.

Spring Hope, North Carolina to St. Paul, Minnesota.

Just a little bit out of the way – was the 23^rd Annual MO-KAN (Missouri-Kansas) moto guzzi rally near Maysville, Missouri (east of St Joseph) on the weekend 19-21 September.  We had been to this rally for just a Friday night years ago – stopped on our way to the west coast and had to leave Saturday morning. Didn't even take the bike off.

The rally is held at the Pony Express Campground, a few miles south of Maysville, “situated on 100 acres of beautiful, rolling countryside” in north-west Missouri.

A chance to do some exploring and catch up with our mid-west moto guzzi friends.

Joe was loaded for Kansas, it was not out of his way to spend the weekend at the rally, he was a few hours behind us.  The trailers were left at a truckstop 12 miles away and both bobtails at the campground were our ‘tents’.

Our 'tents' - our truck on left, Joe's on the right.

Pioneer display at entrance to Pony Express Campground.

Driveway to Pony Express Campground, Maysville, Missouri.

We arrived early!

Our neighbours!

Friday night was chili and hot dogs for dinner and live band for the entertainment.

Friday night band - was awesome, great musicians and music!

After breakfast Saturday morning, Jim and I went into St. Joseph to have a look around.

Internet:  St. Joseph (or St. Joe) is located on the Missouri River north of Kansas City, but is best known as the starting point of the Pony Express and the death place of Jesse James.

It was a “jumping off point” for those headed to the Oregon Territory in the mid-1800s, where pioneers would stay and purchase supplies before they headed out in wagon trains.  The town was a very bustling place, and was the second city in the USA to have electric streetcars.

St. Joseph, Missouri was the western terminus of both the telegraph and railroad.

The historic downtown was awesome!  A busy river town, quite a lot of industry, I loved the old buildings.  Some had been maintained, some were almost in ruins.  I took a lot of photos, an interesting city.

Old warehouse, St Joseph, Missouri.

Missouri Theatre: A renovated 1927 movie palace which now serves as a regional centre for the arts.  This architectural gem is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Downtown St. Joseph, MO.

Buchanan County Courthouse:  On the National Register of Historic Places, the Ford Brothers were tried here for the murder of Jesse James.

The Wyeth-Tootle Mansion - This 1879 sandstone mansion illustrates the cultural, architectural and economic history of 19th century St Joseph.

The Pony Express Office and Patee House Museum: 1858 Patee Hotel was the headquarters of the Pony Express. Four floors of musuem - will need a whole day for that one!

Jesse James Home Museum: Outlaw Jesse James was killed in this house on April 3, 1883. (House has been moved to beside the Patee House Museum.)

Pony Express Monument: The bronze statue of a Pony Express Rider was dedicated in 1940.

There are several museums, but we didn't have a whole lot of time to look though them.  Decided on the Pony Express Museum, which was great!

The Pony Express Museum is in the original stable.  The famous mail service began here on April 3, 1860.  State of the art exhibits illustrate the need, creation, operation and termination of the Pony Express.

Brochure:  On April 3, 1860, a lone rider left on horseback from the gates of one of the nation’s most historic landmarks – the Pony Express Stables in St. Joseph, Missouri.  Carrying saddlebags filled with the nations’ hopes and dreams, the riders travelled 2000 miles west to Sacramento, California.  These brave, young souls raced against nature’s cruel elements and rugged terrain in an attempt to unite a country separated by distance.

Today, the stables continue to stand as a tribute to the legend and legacy to the Pony Express and its enduring era.

The first Pony Express rider to leave St Joseph, westbound, was Johnny Fry.

Trivia:  Johnny Fry’s boots could be worn on either foot.  Not until after the Civil War did people wear right and left shoes.

Ads for Pony Express riders said “Wirey young men, preferably orphans to ride 20 miles …”

Tack Room - 1880's.

The horses and saddles.

A 60 foot long diorama shows the long journey to California.  The Pony Express riders experienced extreme heat in the prairies and desert, extreme cold and blizzards in winter, buffalo stampedes, lightning storms, prairie fires, a tornado.  Only one Pony Express rider was killed by Indians.

The trail. 

The youngest rider was 11 years old!  William F Cody (Buffalo Bill) was a Pony Express rider when he was 15 years old, prior to his Wild West Show.

Brochure: The Trail was nearly 2,000 miles long, about 160 stations were placed nine to fifteen miles apart. The rider got a fresh horse at each station. A new rider took the mail at home stations 75 to 100 miles.  It usually took a rider ten to twelve hours to travel between home stations.  At the home station, he would wait for the mail from the opposite direction and retrace his route back to the home station from which he started.

The completion of the transcontinental telegraph on October 24, 1861, ended the Pony Express after only 18 months of operation.

We travelled some out of the way roads back to the campground – several miles on gravel roads.

Late Saturday afternoon were the motorcycle games – lots of laughs.  The barbeque dinner was excellent.  

The dinner line Saturday evening.

Saturday night band and dancing.

It was a well run and fun rally - the oldest moto guzzi rider was 92 and the youngest 17.  About 100 attended.  We left the campground late Sunday morning, 21 September hooked to the trailer and headed north to St Paul, Minnesota.  Delivered the conveyor belts Monday morning, spent the afternoon at Stockmen’s Truckstop, then a leisurely drive south along the Mississippi River to Winona.

Loaded and tarped Tuesday morning in Winona, Minnesota, and delivered Thursday in Coeymans, New York beside the Hudson River.

Winona, Minnesota to Coeymans, New York.

The Port of Coeymans Marine Terminal is a new and rapidly growing, privately-owned, full service marine terminal and port, located on the Hudson River ten miles south of Albany, NY.

We had crane equipment required for the new Tappan Zee Bridge construction.  The present bridge crosses the Hudson River north of New York City, is almost 60 years old.

Internet: The (new) eight-lane bridge – actually two parallel spans – will stretch across a 3.1 miles breadth of the river will by some measures be the widest in the world. {“by some measures”??}  The current Tappan Zee is a cantilever truss bridge, the new bridge will be a “cable stay” bridge: Cables anchored by midriver towers will support the weight of the roadway rather than cables anchored to land on both ends.  The new bridge is estimated to cost $3.9 billion.

Delivering at Coeymans Port, New York, four winches for the cranes and the control panel.

Coeymans Port and Marine Terminal, and the Hudson River, NY

The leaves have started to change colours and "Fall" is in the air.  The days are still warm, but nights are chilly, makes a lot of fog in the mornings.

The changing colours of Fall.

Thursday evening we loaded near Utica, NY at Special Metals. Four large, heavy ingots of steel for West Virginia.

Utica, New York to Huntington, West Virginia.

On the way we had a wedding to attend in Chest Springs, Pennsylvania, north-west of Altoona in central Pennsylvania.

We have been friends with the Poole family for a many years, attending rally’s and motorcycle events from New York to Florida.  Ralph and Linda and their three children, Lissy, Alesha and Mike - affectionately known as “Poole and the Gang”.  Alesha has found her mate, Warren and their beautiful wedding was not to be missed.

First time we have been to their home in Chest Springs. 

Internet: Chest Springs is a borough in Cambria County.  The population was 110 at the 2000 Census. It is a small, rural town.

We took the whole rig there – very steep grades up and downhill between Altoona and Chest Springs and we were loaded near maximum weight – it took about 40 minutes to drive the 12 miles – it was a slow trip!

The whole rig easily fit behind Poole’s neighbour’s barn and we stayed there for the weekend.  (Lovely people.)

Several people were also there, camped in the yard, most of the setting up had been done for the celebration.

Ralph has a large collection of motorcycles, predominately Ducati’s.  His garage is enviable and much talked about with the guzzi crowd.  Jim was amazed and impressed with his tour of the rooms!

Friday evening was a catch up with friends and dinner at the only restaurant / Tavern in town.

Saturday morning was foggy, then cleared to a beautiful, warm, sunny day.  Firstly, the fog accentuated the hard work done by the spiders in the flower garden.

Fog droplets on spider webs.

My digital camera is very basic because electronics don't last long between the truck and motorbike.  I was surprised how clear these webs turned out.

The wedding venue, and Saturday morning fog and partial "fogbow".

A fogbow:  This photo was taken by Lissy Poole - of the bride to be and her mother on the morning of the wedding, witnessing a beautiful and rare phenomenon.  Awesome photo on many levels!

The Poole family are very crafty, artistic, talented, and FUN!  The attention to detail and the decorations were unique and beautiful!

A Vintage / Fall theme: bales of hay, with pumpkins, and gourds and planters of chrysanthemums; a antique stained glass window from a church was the backdrop for the ceremony, as well as the handmade ‘Venus’ shed that Lissy and Gerry made and dedicated to Alesha and Warren.

Bouquet.

There were antique cabinets and tables; a table of framed photographs of both sides  wedding photos, including ancestors.

The dinner tables had groups of three or four antique decanters and / or vases, some containing fresh flowers, and handmade paper flowers, but the ‘paper’ was old books and atlas pages, scattered on each table were vintage crocheted and embroidered doilies, as well as souvenir beer glasses and goblets etched with A & W (Alesha & Warren) and the date: 09-27-14. 

The local beer is Straub's, brewed in St. Mary's, Pennsylvania.  The beer trailer was popular, with three Straub options: Light, Amber and Octoberfest.

Receiving a thumbs up from Alesha's sister, Lissy!

The newly married, Mr and Mrs Warren Jones.

The introductions, Ralph and Linda first.

The Wedding Cake.

The packets had photos of Warren & Alesha taken on adventures during their courtship.

The celebration is underway!

Of course, the party culminated with a campfire!

There was an excellent wedding meal, great cake, great DJ, and enthusiastic and entertaining dancing.  A very special and memorable wedding!

A few ‘new to me’ local traditions: Ring warming ceremony:  the wedding rings are passed from one guest to another until they make their way back to the bride and groom.  Guests hold the ring (warm it), and can say a silent prayer, blessing or well wishes, then pass it on.  Because of the number of guests at this wedding, the rings only made it through the first couple of rows.

The cookie table.  I didn't take a photo because I wasn't aware until afterwards that it was a ‘thing’.  It is a western Pennsylvania, north-eastern Ohio feature at weddings. A large table of assorted, varied, elaborate cookies made by guests and family members – very impressive and delicious!  The dishes and trays that displayed the cookies were just as elaborate. The cookie table is presented after the ceremony and prior to dinner.  (I love cookies!)

The bride’s dance:  People get in line and contribute a monetary gift for the privilege to dance with the bride (or groom).  Traditionally, the money was to go towards the first days of the honeymoon.

One ‘tradition’ Alesha chose not to incorporate in the wedding was the Pig Trough Dance (or Hog Trough Dance).  An old 'rule' being that siblings marry in birth order from the eldest to the youngest.  If a younger sibling gets married before an older one, it was considered bad luck for the newlyweds - the older one is required to dance in a trough until it breaks in order to cancel out the bad luck.  That still happens at wedding receptions these days - a chance to have some fun.  (Several videos on www.youtube.com)

Thank you to Amanda, Kathy and Linda for giving me the details of some wedding traditions in this area, fascinating!

Jim and I stayed until Sunday morning.  Being a part of Warren and Alesha's wedding day,   the hospitality of the Poole's and the Chest Springs community warmed our hearts!

Back in the truck and took some scenic, mountainous roads back to the big highway.

Farmers selling their harvest from their driveways!

Delivered Monday morning at Special Metals in Huntington, West Virginia.  Found out that the ingots of steel alloy is used to make submarines for the US Navy.

Utica, New York to Huntington, West Virginia.

Loaded foam insulation at Dow Chemical’s  in the Hanging Rock, Ohio facility on Monday afternoon, going to Rochester, New York.  A light load to finish off the month of September!

Hanging Rock, Ohio to Rochester, New York.

Delivered the insulation in Rochester, NY on Tuesday 30 September, then to Buffalo for the rest of the week.