The Cuddle Up ...

 

“Happiness is the richest thing we will ever own.”

          ~ Donald Duck

 

Adorable mallard ducklings happily cuddle up ~ with their mama nearby ~ by the Coplay Creek on a beautiful early July evening along the Ironton Rail Trail, which loops more than nine miles through Whitehall Township, the Borough of Coplay and North Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania.

 

The Ironton Railroad was a shortline railroad in Lehigh County. Originally built in 1861 to haul iron ore and limestone to blast furnaces along the Lehigh River, traffic later shifted to carrying Portland Cement when local iron mining declined in the early 20^th century. Much of the railroad had already been abandoned when it became part of Conrail in 1976, and the last of its trackage was removed in 1984.

 

In 1996, Whitehall Township purchased 9.2 miles of the right-of-way from Conrail, transforming it into the Ironton Rail Trail.

The Merry Month Of May ...

“Childhood memories are like fireflies – small, fleeting, but they light up the darkest nights.”

           ~ often attributed to Rabindranath Tagore

                             ~ 1861 ~ 1941

A trio of young girls make happy childhood memories searching for tadpoles in the waters of the Jordan Creek that are about to spill over Wehr’s Dam, built in 1904, on a beautiful late May afternoon at Covered Bridge Park, Orefield, Pennsylvania.

          

To See A Mockingbird ...

“Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy …”

      ~ “To Kill a Mockingbird”

        ~ Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Harper Lee

              ~ 1960

A Northern Mockingbird ~ the first I’ve ever photographed ~ keeps an eye on spring perched in the grass enjoying a late March afternoon at Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania.

According to All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Northern Mockingbirds continue to add new sounds to their repertoires throughout their lives. A male may learn around 200 songs throughout its life.

 

Sign Of Bethlehem ...

“Life is one big road with lots of signs.”

            ~ Bob Marley

               ~ 1945 ~ 1981

 

The iconic Hotel Bethlehem sign atop the historic hotel lets travelers on various roads leading to the Pennsylvania town know they’ve arrived in The Christmas City. A trace of snow can be seen below the chimney as winter prepares to segue into spring on this mid-March afternoon in this monochrome capture.

During the Prohibition in 1922, Charles M. Schwab built the Historic Hotel Bethlehem as it’s known it today. However, that little spot in the town of Bethlehem has a history with deep roots.

In 1741, a group of Moravian missionaries built, on that very spot, the famous First House of Bethlehem. It was a log house, built to shelter the Moravians as they expanded their presence in the area. The structure also served as a stable. On December 24, 1741, the leader of the Moravian missionaries, Count Nicholaus Ludwig Von Zinzendorf, sang a song about Bethlehem, which inspired the citizens to name the town.

The Moravians were very dedicated to their mission. Using this spot as a home base, they started “schooling the unschooled” and converting the “heathen” indigenous people. The Moravians were so passionate and dedicated that within 20 years, they had built 50 more buildings and were working on several different industries. All from within the structures they had built.

In the late 18th century, under the first presidency, George Washington, the First House of Bethlehem was converted to the Golden Eagle Hotel. The hotel operated in this incarnation until 1919, when the building started housing convalescing soldiers returning from World War I.

In 1922, Schwab’s fortune was on the rise and he was one of the stars of American Steel. Schwab built the hotel to cater to the clients of the enormous Bethlehem Steel Company and even back then, it featured amenities equivalent to modern day luxuries, such as, a fitness center, a barber shop, shoe shine, and coffee shop.

Nowadays, the Historic Hotel Bethlehem proudly displays its story in its lower lobby's Hall of History. Artifacts from the town’s history (religious settlement to industrial boomtown) such as photographs and printed materials are showcased as well. A 1936 George Gray painting located in the Mural Room depicts the transformation of the culture surrounding the building.

Historic Hotel Bethlehem, a member of Historic Hotels of America since 2002, dates back to 1922. The year 2024 marked the fourth consecutive year Historic Hotel Bethlehem was named America’s Best Historic Hotel by USA Today – a grand slam. Bruce Haines is the longtime owner of the hotel.

Bethlehem is known as The Christmas City. Since that Christmas Eve 1741when a small group of Moravians were singing a hymn with the stanza “Not Jerusalem, Lowly Bethlehem” Count Nicolaus Ludwig Von Zinzendorf christened this little town “Bethlehem.” Since that time Christmas in Bethlehem has been central to the city’s identity. From the first documented decorated Christmas tree in America to the efforts of the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce to get Bethlehem nicknamed “Christmas City USA” in 1937, to the current time when both sides of the river boast Christmas markets filled with artisan craft, retail and food vendors, Bethlehem is rife with one Christmas celebration after another.