The Mollies, Hershey Chocolate and Civil War Haunts

Expecting the town of Jim Thorpe to be much like any other of the Poconos villages, I was really struck by how unique it was. It is located further south, in another nook of the mountains. What hit me first was looking at it from above, the steeples and building rooftops standing out from the trees.

(On a quite bizarre and humorous note - I spotted a church advertisement decorated with a cross and reading: "Let's Nail Down a Date, 10:30 Sunday." Ouch! Interesting play on words?)

I pulled down into the village, and noticed immediately, the rich preservation of the architecture and compact layout of the town. The main road rose up a steep hill and carved its way up the mountain. The sun was just coming over the mountain and hitting the myriad of colors and angles that have stood there for more than a century.

My shoot was at one of the town's most historic landmarks, the Inn at Jim Thorpe. This was a haunted building and has been featured on many TV shows and the like. Most of my shooting time is being alone in rooms and other parts of properties. It's shoots like these where it becomes very cool. Alone in old rooms and less visited parts of historic structures.

Well, no ghosties for me, but I did have time to chat with a few housekeepers and the like. It's the experiences of the more skeptical that are more intriguing. Such as a businessman who was a regular customer, feeling someone sitting on his bed and then seeing the sheet covering him lift up and off. As is the case with many a ghost incidence, objects will be moved from one place to another.

Jim Thorpe was named after the phenomenal Native American athlete Jim Thorpe who was stripped of his Olympic medal when it was discovered he had played pro. But later, the U.S. re-accepted him and this town agreed to take his name as their own.

It was formally known as Mauch Chunk and was the home to the Molly Maguires. This band of Irishman fought for the rights of miners and in doing so killed people. The leaders were hanged but now stand as martyrs for basic human rights. The Hibernian society holds them in special regard. Sean Connery and Richard Harris stared in a movie that brought them to the forefront of American pop culture and conciousness. Parts of the film were actually thought in Jim Thorpe. it's totally worth the watch if you've the time! I visited the old jail where they were held and hanged. Bummed that it was closed, I peaked around the old structure and took a few shots.

The town was alive with workers making restoration repairs, train tours down at the tracks and small shops open along the the rising road. The tripod and camera gets heavy on such long jaunts but it all is well worth it.

After eating a fab sandwich at a little cafe and chatting to the owner, who was complaining about some nuts burning shrubs in the back of the buildings, I took off. My hopes were to hit Hershey Pennsylvania before 4pm.

Further south I drove and entered Hershey. I was literally salivating, the thought of creamy milk chocolate streams running through my mind. All at once you are in the town and the factory, with its twin smokestacks and large factory building, giving the impression you are in Wonkaville. I drove down Cocoa and Chocolate Ave. and finally found the tour.

Somewhat like a combination of Chucky Cheese and Disney, the tour is now a ride through scenes of animated singing cows and reproductions of the chocolate making process. Disappointed that that was all it was, I was happy to find the chocolate store before closing. Though not the same as swimming in a stream of chocolate, a candy bar or two or three is some consolation. And yes, you can actually smell chocolate in the air all around downtown Hershey!

I had sushi and spoke with the owner who was actually from Vietnam. After a good meal and conversation I took off. It then dawned upon me, to my horror, that I had forgotten to pay!!! So, zooming back to the restaurant, feeling like the biggest schmuck in the world, I apologized and paid my bill. :(

Today the shoot went quick and smooth and I drove south through the Mason-Dixon line and back into Pennsylvania and into Fairfield, near Gettysburg. This is hilly farmland and the land of the Civil War (the northernmost points , that is.) Old barns and houses that had stood since the time of the war make you happy that they are still standing!

To end the day I head to downtown Gettysburg for the ghost tour. I'd been to the battlefield but never the town. I have to say that the town is as striking as the field. Other than the cars you could have been in 1863. The night dark helped to darken the mood and make it perfect for the tour. But it still feels alive and comfortable for a night-time stroll.

In many of the windows of the old row houses were little candle lights. Each building that has stood since the time of the engagement had little metal plaque and there were a lot of those! Our tour brought us to stories of the Civil War soldiers that still roam the old buildings. In fact, I'll leave a little picture of one house in particular that had many sightings. Even during one of the tours, people had evidentally watched sightings happen before their eyes. Who knows? But it is a fun way to see the old historic town!

Tomorrow will see a whole day devoted to Gettysburg, visiting that most haunted place in the U.S. Having seen over 51,000 casualties in three days, if ghosts haunt anywhere that seems to be an appropriate place.