We are in the midst of a blistering heat wave here in Central New York, but it was only 85 in the shade today here in Marietta. I was inspired to take a spin in the country, and I picked the '83 to ride.
25 miles away is the small town of Fabius; this favorite local jaunt has been the background to a number of my ride posts, as you may recall.
Just down the road from this cornfield is the Dennis Coal business, and when I stopped by for the first time today, the owner, Nancy, came out to greet me with a friendly "hello". An engaging business owner is so refreshing. She had a piece of Americana folk art out front made by a friend:
Nancy is as much into recording and collecting local history as I am. She said with enthusiasm that her building was constructed in the 70's as a dairy farm, and was in fact the first "freestanding" dairy farm in New York State. This meant that the cows were not housed in stalls.
However, a disease spread through the farm on the 90's, forcing the closure of the farm, and leading to the start of her coal and stove business.
Here is a pic of the interior:
Nancy was most interested in showing me two items, an old booze-making still,
and a collection of coupons given to coal miners many decades ago in Harrisburg, PA, to be used to buy goods at the company store.
She had an admirable collection of old farm tools, all which I wanted to bring home with me,
but my knapsack could only fit this interesting item:
Nancy couldn't tell me where it came from.
So this one is a challenge: what might this be ?
.
.
25 miles away is the small town of Fabius; this favorite local jaunt has been the background to a number of my ride posts, as you may recall.
Just down the road from this cornfield is the Dennis Coal business, and when I stopped by for the first time today, the owner, Nancy, came out to greet me with a friendly "hello". An engaging business owner is so refreshing. She had a piece of Americana folk art out front made by a friend:
Nancy is as much into recording and collecting local history as I am. She said with enthusiasm that her building was constructed in the 70's as a dairy farm, and was in fact the first "freestanding" dairy farm in New York State. This meant that the cows were not housed in stalls.
However, a disease spread through the farm on the 90's, forcing the closure of the farm, and leading to the start of her coal and stove business.
Here is a pic of the interior:
Nancy was most interested in showing me two items, an old booze-making still,
and a collection of coupons given to coal miners many decades ago in Harrisburg, PA, to be used to buy goods at the company store.
She had an admirable collection of old farm tools, all which I wanted to bring home with me,
but my knapsack could only fit this interesting item:
Nancy couldn't tell me where it came from.
So this one is a challenge: what might this be ?
.
.
