An historic courthouse, exposed

newly restored 1916 Palm Beach County Courthouse, originally uploaded by mainmanwalkin.

The 1916 Neoclassical Palm Beach Courthouse was revealed in its full glory in March 2008 after an unusual wrap-around building came down in an $18 million restoration project.

The Florida county commissioners must have been dropping LSD in the late 1960s when they decided to hide this building with that ugly addition.

A different board of commissions in 2002 had no idea how much of this gem still existed when it had the foresight to approve money for this chip-away work, the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Preservation magazine reports in its May/June issue. The work involved salvaging the original columns that had been relocated to a cemetery.

The building now is used for some county offices, as well as a history museum.

While the quality of this video of the demolition is poor, it's pretty cool, nonetheless.

A convenience store with the best goods

Sheetz, we bow down before thee.

For one reason, your executives have our respect for going to battle against Pennsylvania’s archaic liquor laws that prevent the sale of beer in convenience stores. Keep fighting, though, because you are only able to sell six-packs of brew alongside bottles of natural spring water in Altoona, Pa.

Better yet, your sparkling stores seem to be the only places in southwestern Pennsylvania that sell bags of Sour Patch EXTREME Soft & Chewy Candy.

“It makes your mouth water before you even open the bag because you know your tongue is going to be assaulted,” said Amanda Gillooly, a colleague at the Observer-Reporter.

“They are sweet, but if you put dog food on the lazy Susan I’d probably eat it,” her coworker Michael Jones adds, while chewing a mouthful of white cheddar cheese coated popcorn. *

In this corner, I stop at Sheetz at every opportunity to buy these sweet and sour treats, partly because Gillooly has threatened to hurt me when they are not within her reach at work.

And she has because I occasionally keep bags of this gooey junk food to myself.

“Quit bogarting them, man,” Gillooly says as I type these words.

I flinch before handing them back to her with hesitation, and wonder how they would taste with beer.

* A lazy Susan purchased at a thrift store and usually filled with snacks sits at the center of the four desks that make up our pod in the newsroom. Right now, it also holds a bag of Goetze’s Caramel Creams, treats that Gillooly calls “old man candy.” But she eats them regardless.

Dead microfilm reader stalls Donora series

1959 Microfilm Reader - Old Campus, originally uploaded by Bethel University Library.

For those of you who have been following the series of short stories titled "The Gamble on Donora Steel," it has come to a halt because of a technical glitch.

The primary source for researching these stories is the microfilm of old local newspapers at the Donora Public Library in southwestern Pennsylvania.

The library's only microfilm reader hasn't been working since last fall and it doesn't have the money to repair or replace the dinosaur. And the staff won't let any of its sister libraries in the Mon Valley borrow the precious microfilm.

So if you have some money to donate to the library to get that machine up and running, or know where to find one for free, I'm sure a donation would make us happy.

UPDATE: The library will be glad to accept donations, but it has finally purchased a new microfilm reader. It should be in operation by the end of November 2009.

Kudos to a coworker

Troops Leave for Iraq, originally uploaded by Celeste Van Kirk.

Congratulations to Observer-Reporter photographer Celeste Van Kirk for winning a spot news award today from Pennsylvania Associated Press Managing Editors.
Celeste attacks every assignment with enthusiasm, a warm heart and a pleasant attitude.
Her winning photo, above, was shot in September of Justin Prettiman of Buffalo Township, a specialist with the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, hugging his daughter, Nicole, 3, before his deployment to Iraq. It accompanied this story:

By Michael Jones, Staff writer
Observer-Reporter

Justin Prettiman knelt down and hugged his 3-year-old daughter, holding her in his arms moments before boarding a bus that would initiate his journey to Iraq.

The specialist in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard had wanted to be a soldier since he was a toddler. But nothing fully prepared the 22-year-old Buffalo Township man to say goodbye to his young daughter, Nicole.

"It's the hardest thing a soldier has to do, in my opinion," Prettiman said, his voice cracking slightly as he spoke. "Everything else I can deal with."

He stood in a circle with his parents, Fritz and Frank Prettiman, and girlfriend, Jessica Hensler. His daughter held a coiled American flag.

Not knowing what he would encounter during his first tour in Iraq, other soldiers advised him on what to expect while in a war zone and, most importantly, counseled him on saying goodbye.

"I've been talking to them about it, and they have helped me out quite a bit," Prettiman said. "It's tough, but they've helped prepare me for this day."

Prettiman and 100 of his fellow guardsmen from the 2nd Infantry Brigade's regional armory in South Franklin Township left on seven buses early Friday morning on a cross-state tour to pick up other soldiers. The brigade, part of the 28th Infantry Division, will join the 56th Stryker Brigade in eastern Pennsylvania before training at Camp Shelby in Hattiesburg, Miss.

They are expected to deploy to Iraq in January and will remain there for less than a year. Where they will be based and the scope of their mission is unknown, but they are part of a "full-spectrum counterinsurgency" combat team.

Escorted by two state police motorcycles and a couple of police cruisers, the first white and blue touring buses rolled from the armory in South Franklin shortly after 8 a.m.

"We kinda don't know what's going on yet, so we're still getting everything straightened out with the mission," said Sgt. Ben Vorpahl of Monessen. "We've got a good group of guys here. We can handle anything. You get tight. You've got to trust your buddy to watch your back."

This is the second deployment to Iraq for the 29-year-old prison guard at the State Correctional Institution in Fayette County. Two years ago, he and many others in the unit were sent to the volatile Al-Anbar province.

Vorpahl's family was not able to travel to the armory to say their goodbyes. Instead, his wife, Corrina, was at home caring for their 3-month-old son, Eric, who was feeling ill. Although Vorpahl is somewhat accustomed to being deployed, it is especially difficult for his 5-year-old son, Evan, who has now watched his father go to war twice.

Vorpahl stood beside Sgt. Josh Cook, a 21-year-old student at California University of Pennsylvania, as they waited to board their bus. Cook, who also was deployed to Iraq two years ago, said they would help the "younger guys" during their first tours.

The two talked as they stood around their gear and slowly smoked their cigarettes.

"I think I'm missing out on a lot, but I'd rather be doing this while I'm young. It's for a good cause," Cook said.

"I don't have a wife or kids, so I don't have it as hard as this guy over here," he added and pointed to Vorpahl.

The atmosphere around the buses was somber compared to the joyous homecomings that have been celebrated at this armory.

Sgt. Ryan Clark, 26, of Rochester played with his 3-year-old son, Ryan Jr., and talked with his wife, Rachel.

"Just doing what my country asked me to do. It's a bittersweet day," Clark said. "You join the military to serve your country, but it's hard to leave your friends and family."

Nearby, other families hugged, posed for pictures or just stood in silence waiting for the buses to leave. One young couple kissed and then hugged each other, embracing for a few extra seconds before the soldier nodded his head and walked away.

"It's not easy, but he's wanted to do this since he was 3 years old," Prettiman's mother, Fritz, said. "It's just hard because he has Nicole. This was his dream, and we're just here to back him."

Before leaving, Prettiman hugged his father, Frank, and shook his hand. His dad gave him a thumbs up, reached for his arm and held it for a moment.

The son slowly backed away and stepped onto the bus.

Stray dog

Duke, originally uploaded by Scott Beveridge.

This lost dog found us Sunday, April 19, 2009, at Meadowcroft rock shelter, Washington County, Pa. That would be just east of the West Virginia panhandle.

He appears to be about a year old, some form of a pointer and house broken. Please contact me to get your dog back at the e-mail address along the sidebar, below the flying saucer.

No feeding the mice at this historic hotel

Lobby, originally uploaded by xinapray.

ASHFORD, Wash. – First-time guests at Paradise Inn on Mount Rainier might expect an exquisite lodge with chic amenities.

But they won't be disappointed if their idea of paradise is an old, isolated hotel that lacks phones or televisions in its guest rooms, where rodents are known to make occasional visits.

"People come here and they think they are coming to a resort," said Pam Newlun, manager of the 92-year-old inn at Mount Rainier National Park in Washington.

"They ask for the pools, hot tubs. The big question: 'Is there a place to plug in my computer?'" said Newlun, admitting the answer to that query isn't one those with addictions to computers want to hear. Cell phones don't even work at the hotel, 100 miles east of Seattle and high in the clouds beside an active volcano.

Paradise Inn is constructed of Alaskan cedar salvaged from a forest fire in the mountain in 1885 and hauled by horse-drawn wagon to the base of the glacier. It is among 191 hotels and resorts that are members of the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Historic Hotels of America program.

People choose to stay in hotels listed with the program because they have an appreciation for well-preserved architecture and want to stay in a room with ambiance. They also seek out hotels in historic settings, said Mary Billingsley, the program's public relations director.

The National Park Service is dedicated to preserving the 235,625-acre Mount Rainier, 97 percent of which is designated as wilderness in the 104-year-old park. Hikers can be arrested if they are caught wandering off trails and trampling on grass, which damages the park's precious ecosystem.

Guest Services of Fairfax, Va., which manages Paradise Inn, is even prohibited from using poison or traps to kill mice, which are equally valuable to the food chain at the park.

Hotel guests are warned to keep food out of their rooms, or they may have an uninvited visit by one of the "many species of animals" that abound in the park.

"We are working hard with the park service to maintain the historic nature of this hotel," Newlun said.

This is a place where families gather at night around two massive stone fireplaces and play cards or board games. Or they can be found outside, at the base of Mount Rainier's famous glacier, hiking or snow-shoeing in June when as many as 8 feet of snow can be found on the ground.

Park employees take turns in the lodge playing soothing music on a piano that was hand-hewn from native pine trees not long after the hotel opened.

Walt Disney reportedly honeymooned at the inn, which also was visited by President Truman. He tickled the ivories on the piano and had dinner in the hotel, Newlun said.

Most of the member hotels have interesting stories to tell about famous guests, even those who some claim have refused to leave.

The mysterious "Pink Lady" has been sighted at The Grove Park Inn Resort and Spa in Asheville, N.C. Some believe she is the ghost of a young woman dressed in pink who fell to her death in the hotel atrium 80 years ago. One guest as recently as two years ago said his hair stood on end and he felt a tug on his ear when he walked alone in the atrium, Billingsley says.

There is another tale about "romance gone awry" that is still told at Brown Palace Hotel in Denver. The scandal involved a married resident, Isabelle "Sassy" Springer, and her new boyfriend, who shot her old boyfriend and two others in the hotel in 1911.

The 77-year-old and finely appointed Mayflower Park Hotel is known for romance and relaxation, having earned the distinction of being the "best getaway hotel" in the Seattle area. The 171-room hotel prides itself on having restored its deep porcelain bathtubs in all-white bathrooms dating to 1927. These tubs have old-style rubber corks hanging from chains attached to the faucets.

"The hotel's tubs are nearly twice the depth of a standard hotel tub, which makes them perfect for a relaxing after-work or after-shopping soak," said Paul Ishii, the hotel's general manager.

The Mayflower has advertised "rub a dub, dub" packages aimed at treating the body and soul. The packages include a loofa sponge and luxury bath salts.

The hotels affiliated with the National Trust come in all shapes and sizes and at a wide range of costs for a night's rest.

The American Hotel in Sag, Harbor, N.Y., has just eight rooms, and the Waldorf-Astoria in New York boasts 1,380.

A night at the Paradise can cost as little as $79 for a room without a bathroom. Someone wanting a suite at The Plaza in New York, however, would need to shell out $15,000 for a night.