Through An 'Old Timer's' Eyes
By Howard 'Mac' McDonald

Northcentral Pennsylvania is rich in history. As a boy, I wasn't interested in history but now just about everything I think about is history. Even our own memories are a form of history. Every one of us is a walking history book.

What brings all this to mind is the fact that, as you travel through the small towns in our area, you notice that the older buildings resemble each other, no matter what town you're in.

It reminds me of the old western movies. No matter what the name of the movie is, the towns all look alike. Maybe that's because they use the same movie set, with the saloon, the general store and the livery stable.

Emporium's business district is comprised mostly of older buildings. A few newer ones have been built. The modern library is at the site of the old theater. Sheetz stands at the old Warner Hotel lot. The Cabin Kitchen has been resurrected at the site where the old one burned.

Guy and Mary Felt Manor has expanded onto the site of the old Odd Fellows building. Kwik Fill got a facelift and Rite Aid is going up where the Market Basket was. You'd think with all this activity that Emporium is a thriving community. But a thriving community doesn't have empty downtown storefronts.

Here's an example of a log home constructed of handcut round logs. The seams are chinked with cement.

Emporium still has a lot of spectacular old houses, along with a few not so pleasing to the eye. When the trees are blooming on Fourth Street, it looks like a Norman Rockwell painting.

Log homes seem to be the latest fad. The newer ones usually come from a company that specializes in milled logs that are cut with a flat mating surface.

At the end of Rich Valley are two old-style log homes. They're constructed of hand-cut round logs and the seams are chinked with cement. All of these log homes are a thing of beauty and their addition to the countryside is a real asset.

Emporium is now down to four places where the public can go to enjoy a libation. That may be pleasing to the nondrinkers. At Charlie's Friendly Tavern, a couple can still have dinner and then enjoy an afterdinner drink.

Meanwhile, eight churches dot our landscape here. I hope their efforts make us more compassionate toward one another.

Many small towns used to pretty much shut down on Wednesday afternoons. That is a tradition that has all but disappeared.

In Emporium, Wednesday used to be Camp Day. The businesses shut down at noon and about everybody went to camp. Today, the people who own camps are a different breed.

Some of these camps are more luxurious than homes. On the other hand, there are some camps that have been left to rot and are real eyesores. The owners should be forced to fix them up or tear them down.

NASCAR began its new season with a crash-filled race in the Daytona 500. Mark Martin lost by a cat's whisker. Hang in there Mark, as it is a long season.

The Chainsaw Carver Rendezvous is winding up this weekend in Ridgway. There were more carvers this year and their skill with the saw is something to behold. They can turn a large log into an animal more intricate than anything I've ever seen.

I heard that a TV crew was covering the chainsaw event. That reminded me of the time ABC's Wide World of Sports covered the Sinnemahoning Snake Hunt. The crowd that followed the crew caused a sanitary situation, since this was before the days of port-ojohns.

The Sinnemahoning event has been scaled down in recent years so I don't think they have to worry about that any more.