The Keystone State - Lancaster area

Pennsylvania - part 2

(Sightseeing)

June 11, 2018 - June 17, 2018

The Amish

The Amish came to Pennsylvania from Switzerland, Germany and Alsace-Loraine (France) in the late 1720's and to Lancaster County in the early 1760's.  Lancaster County now has about 33,000 Amish.  Due to the scarcity of available farms, some are moving to other counties in PA or other states.  Both Ohio and Indiana have large Amish populations.  In Europe, no Amish remain who subscribe to the the principles of the original group.  On the other hand, Mennonites can be found all over Europe.

The Amish religion is a splinter group who, in the late 1600's, broke from the Mennonite religion because they believed the Mennonites were not adhering to the ban on using newer technologies.  Both Mennonites and Amish are Christians.

Typical kitchen in an Amish home might include both a wood stove and a gas stove, gas lamps.

It would also have a gas refrigerator.  The blender on the counter is run by air pressure from a gas or diesel generator.

Typical Amish clothing.
Women wear plain colors (no prints) and white head bonnets.
Mens pants are held up by suspenders.  Hook and eye closures are used rather than buttons or zippers.

Typical Amish bedroom.

Typical Amish wedding dress and quilt.

Laundry with ringer washer and wash tub and wash board.
I accidentally caught our former Amish, now Mennonite tour guide as she sneezed.

Stream on the farm property.

Milk jug sitting in water to keep it cool.

Typical design of Amish barns.

Carriages serve as transportation for the Amish.
Carriages are equipped with dimmer switch, turn signals and flashers run by battery.  They also have hydraulic breaks. 

Amish one room school.
Children are educated only through the 8th grade.

Inside of the one room school.

Found the following on one of the walls in the school room and found it interesting.

Contrasts Between Amish Schools and Public Schools

Amish schools: are run on a human scale
Public schools: are run on an organizational scale

Amish schools: are run by parents without an administrative bureaucracy
Public schools: are operated by professionals with an administrative bureaucracy

Amish schools: stress drill accuracy and proper sequence
Public schools: stress speed, variety and freedom of choice

Amish schools: train youngsters to stay in their community
Public schools: train youngsters to get ahead in life

Amish schools: stress tradition
Public schools: stress progress

Amish schools: pick teachers because of their Christian example
Public schools: pick teachers because of their ability and training

Amish schools: have teachers who are generalists in subjects
Public schools: have teachers who are specialists in subjects

Amish schools: favor correct knowledge
Public schools: favor critical thinking

Amish schools: value cooperation and humility
Public schools: value competition and and pride in achievment

Amish schools: reject technology
Public schools: embrace technology

Amish schools: rank penmanship as a skill
Public schools: rank penmanship low as a skill

Amish schools: favor group idenity
Public schools: favor individual expression

Amish schools: have no kindergarten
Public schools: have kindergarten

Amish schools: use a limited amount of lesson material
Public schools: use a great amount of lesson material

Amish schools: see a future Plain Person with a soul
Public schools: see a child as a citizen with intellect

Amish schools: hire teachers only for the Plain community
Public schools: hire teachers with diverse backgrounds

Amish schools: stress memorization
Public schools: downplay memorization

Amish schools: see learning as work
Public schools: see learning often as fun

Amish schools: believe truth is revealed in the Bible
Public schools: search for truth

Amish schools: stress believing
Public schools: stress questioning

Laura considers the Amish way of life.

Hershey, PA - Hershey's Chocolate World

Milton A. Hershey - founder of the Hershey Company.

Panorama of Hershey's Chocolate World and Hershey Park.
(Hershey Park is a theme park with over 70 rides - including 13 different roller coaster rides!)

A very small portion of the gift store at Hershey's Chocolate World.

All the following steps occur before the beans get to Hershey's.

Because of their weight the cacao pods don't grow at the tips of the tree.
Instead they grow from the limbs and trunk of the tree.

Once delivered to Hershey's....

There's plenty to do at Hershey's Chocolate World and most of it is expensive.  The "chocolate tour" where you learn how a cacao bean is transformed into Hershey's chocolate is the only thing you can do for free.  We did a chocolate tasting experience where we sampled 4 different types of chocolate and recorded what each tasted like using the taste wheel shown below. 

It was interesting to see how many different flavors people tasted in the same piece of chocolate.
I must have a very unrefined palate.  All I could taste was cocoa!

We also took a trolly tour around the town of Hershey and learned all about Milton Hershey's life.

This was the home Milton and his wife had built.

This is the Hershey Hotel.  It sits up on a hill overlooking the town and it looks like a mighty nice place to stay.

The main thing I want to say about Mr. Hershey is his philanthropy.  He and his wife never had any children and they talked about adopting.  Instead, they built a free private school for orphan boys in Hershey complete with dorms, school buildings, play fields, etc.  Before he died, Mr. Hershey set up a trust to fund the school so that it could continue well after his death.  Since then the school has grown into a coeducational residential school and home for children from lower income families.  As you drive by you can easily see the quality of the buildings, fields, etc.  The campus is really beautiful.  One of Mr. Hershey's dreams was that one day one of the graduates from his school would run the Hershey company and that dream came true.  In fact, 9 graduates have gone on to work at high level positions at the Hershey company.  What a legacy to leave the world.

Harrisburg - Pennsylvania's State Capitol 

This building is said to be one of the most beautiful state capitol's in the country and we could easily see why.

The State Capital Building

The heavy metal entry doors to the building are beautiful.

View from inside the doors.
Normally the white chairs would not be there.  They were set up for a wedding.

Looking up at the center dome.
The entire building was restored but I can't remember when. 
All the gold you see throughout the building is real 24 karat gold leaf! 

Looking down into the Senate chamber from the spectator's seats.

Another picture of the Senate Chamber showing the incredible art work and the chandeliers. 

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court

The dome of the Supreme Court

Looking down into Pennsylvania's House of Representatives

We had actually gone into Harrisburg to see something else but it wasn't what we expected it to be so we made lemonade from lemons and went to see the State Capitol Building instead.  So glad we did.

Columbia, PA - National Watch and Clock Museum

This turned out to be one of my favorite museums so far.  Their exhibits were amazing.  The first thing they tackled is the history of time!

An Egyptian Clepsydra or water timer.
Water drips from the bowl at a certain rate thus measuring time.

Sand timers. Can be used to measure various length's of time depending on how much sand is placed in the glass.

Fire clocks such as a calibrated candle, a measurement of oil or a calibrated stick of incense.

Sun dials - tell the time of day by means of a shadow cast by a vertical indicator onto a specially constructed hour scale.

Shadow clocks - used to measure the length of the sun's shadow.

Marine Chronometers (on the right side)

Clock cabinetmaker's shop.

The incredible workmanship used to create these clocks is unmistakable. 

A sampling of the incredible clocks in the museum.

It was with the growth of railroads that time really became an important issue.

Some of the machines used to produce parts for watches and clocks.

Images from watch and clock factories.

Just two pictures of the hundreds of pocket watches in the museum

front

rear

The desk of a watch repairer.

One of several tower clock mechanisms.
My 2nd great grandfather was a jeweler and watchmaker.  He also repaired clocks and watches. 
In Kalamazoo, MI he was in charge of the town clock located in the Baptist Church Tower.

What an amazing museum!