Byrnesville, PA

Last year we visited Centralia, PA (blog entry here: Centralia 2013).  We returned again this year, but before we hit Centralia, we visited the lesser known town of Byrnesville, PA.

Byrnesville in the past (photo by Mike Reilley - used with permission)

Byrnesville was a town located near Centralia and was torn down due to the mine fire. The last home was demolished in 1996.

Last home that remained in Byrnesville 

(photo by Mike Reilley - used with permission)

The only structure that really remains in Byrnesville today is a shrine to the Blessed Mother.  

We did pass the shrine on our trek to Centralia last year but at the time did not know what it was all about so we didn't stop.  This year, being more educated, we made it a point to visit and were so glad we did.

Not only did we get to see the shrine, we had the privilege of meeting Mr. Mike Reilley. His father is the one who built the shrine many years ago and Mike is the person who maintains the shrine today.

Here are some shots of the interior. The photos are members of the Reilley family who have passed on.

Mike was such a great guy!  We spoke to him for about a half an hour and he was more than happy to share stories with us about Brynesville and his experiences. It sounds like Byrnesville was the typical nice small town filled with working class, salt-of-the-earth folks. The kind of town where we would love to live!

Mike shared with us that he intended to become a coal miner but the day that he went to get a job, the mines were shut down. He told us about his family and explained that he was able to make a pretty good life after having to leave Byrnesville.

In addition to maintaining the shrine, Mike also has an amazing website all about Brynesville past and present. There are some fantastic stories and pictures there, including a shot of Mike's own house being torn down. I can't even begin to imagine what it must have felt like to watch that happening.

Mike's website can be found here: http://byrnesville.com/

He told us that there used to be statues on either side of the shrine, but people being the jerks they are (my words, not his) they were taken and smashed. (Once again, I don't know why people have to be that way. Makes absolutely no sense to me).

Undeterred, though, Mike still keeps up the shrine. He was kind enough to give me permission to use his photos, but I have only posted two here, as I urge my readers to go to Mike's actual website and see the pictures there. I can't even say enough how nice he was. I have often wondered how the people who were affected by the Centralia mine fire react to tourists. It must be jarring to have people driving through your town/area all the time, taking pictures of what was a real tragedy. Mike was super kind about it all and even told me that having people visit makes what he does all worthwhile. I really appreciated that.

It's very sad to think about the mine fire and how it changed the lives of so many people. I guess we are guilty of doing the touristy thing by going to Centralia and Byrnesville and taking pictures, however, the Crew and I do this with the utmost respect for the people of these towns. I think it's important to share these stories because you never know when something like this can happen again. It's so heartbreaking.

Again, please take the time to check out Mike Reilley's website. I guarantee you will not be disappointed!

Coming up next will be a post about our second visit to Centralia, so stay tuned!

Until Next Time,

Miss Myo

xoxoxoxoxoxo

Covered Bridge - Stillwater, PA

The Crew and I recently took a trip to Pennsylvania and saw many sites and went to many cool places. Therefore I also have lots of neat stories to tell and adventures to share!

The posts to come will be pretty long and detailed, but I decided to start with a quick one to whet the appetites of my readers. The Stillwater, PA Covered Bridge:

The Stillwater Covered Bridge was built in 1849 at a cost of $1,124.00 and it crosses Big Fishing Creek. It is Covered Bridge No. 134 and is one of 28 historic covered bridges in the Pennsylvania counties of Columbia and Montour.

The bridge is 151 feet long with a galvanized steel roof.  It has a Burr Arch Truss style, which is a combination arch and multiple kingpost truss design.

Apparently there has been damage done by snowmobiles on and around the bridge, despite this sign being prominently displayed:

There is also an abandoned church near the bridge.  Not sure of the name or denomination, but it was pretty cool!

You can find out more about this covered bridge - as well as the other historic covered bridges in the area - at this Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/ColumbiaCountyCoveredBridgeAssoc

This was a really neat little piece of history which demonstrates the fact that even the simplest of sights can be awesome places to visit!

Until Next Time,

Miss Myo

xoxoxoxoxoxo

Mount Laurel . . . or East Anglia?

Mim and I are huge fans of British TV.  From Monty Python, to Upstairs/Downstairs, to Foyle's War, we can't get enough.

That's right, yeah?

One of our all-time favorite British shows is Lovejoy, starring Ian McShane in the title role.

You can divvie me anytime . . .

Lovejoy (just Lovejoy, no Mister and no first name) is an antiques dealer with a shop located in East Anglia. He's what's known as a "divvie" - a person with the ability to pick out amazing antique items and someone who can immediately tell the reals from the fakes. He and his friends (which include Lady Jane played by Phyllis Logan who some of you may know as Mrs. Hughes on Downton Abbey) get into all kinds of adventures and intrigue throughout the series. Who knew that antiques could be so exciting?

Look at how thrilled they all are . . . 

Ian McShane, of course, is just as well known for his turn as Al Swearengen on HBO's Deadwood, where he is just as awesome (albiet in a much different way). . . 

Lovejoy didn't drink or swear nearly as much as Al but they both rock . . . 

Anyway . . . my explorations recently brought me to an abandoned antiques shop in Mount Laurel, NJ, near Springdale Road, that could very well have been ripped from the Lovejoy set.

This is one of those places that I don't know anything about, except that it's obviously closed and apparently at some point they had a wood burning stove, as evidenced from this sign in the window, letting the local firemen know that if they see smoke, the place isn't burning up, they are just trying to keep warm.

It's a really cool building and I hope that the current owners re-open at some point or that someone buys it and starts it up again. Unfortunately, though, it will probably end up being torn down to create a parking lot or something equally stupid.  :(

Gotta love progress, right?

Sigh. . . 

Until Next Time,

Miss Myo

xoxoxoxoxoxo

Resurrection of Christ Cemetery - Bellmawr, NJ

It just so happens that this is Easter Weekend 2014.  Being that the crew and I are not Christian, we do not celebrate Easter, however, it just so happens that tonight I am posting about Resurrection of Christ Cemetery located in my hometown of Bellmawr, NJ. I didn't plan it that way; this is just one of life's little coincidences.  :)

Resurrection of Christ Cemetery is one of my all time favorite cemeteries (anyone who knows me knows that I do love my graveyards). However, for a very long time I did not even know what this cemetery was called!

Mystery Cemetery

The thing is, there is no name on this cemetery and there is a fence only on two sides. Even though there is a gate, the whole right side of the cemetery is completely unobstructed so you can get in and walk around at any time of the night or day. The cemetery is backed by woods so I can understand why that portion is not fenced, but I don't ever recall there being any kind of fencing on the right side.

Definitely not the most secure cemetery in the world...

Anyway, this is primarily a Polish cemetery and while I have tried to do some research about it - and have even asked around to see if anybody had any real information about it - all I have been able to find out is that it is connected to the Polish National Catholic Church.

Indeed Polish

I was under the assumption that this cemetery was no longer used for new burials, however upon inspection I have found several markers there with death dates in the 2000's. Especially one in particular that our younger son, C, finds creepy and I find sort of endearing, the grave of a man named Gary L. Boyer. The marker has his picture on it, with a clown. I don't know why...I guess he just liked clowns. And his mother's name is on the marker as well. When I was there this evening, there were tons of flowers, Easter decorations, and a stuffed clown at the gravesite.

Creepy or sweet?  You decide...

There are many really old markers here as well, some that are almost completely worn down and hard to read and others that are broken. There are also several that are back in the woods. I assume at one time the entire area was cleared out but I guess the trees have slowly been taking back over.

 

Apparently there was either someone living in the woods behind the cemetery or had slept there after partying, because I also found this:

Because the woods in Bellmawr, NJ is where it's at if you want to party hard...

Something much more pleasant that I noticed were the little purple flowers that carpet about a quarter of the cemetery. I guess some would call them weeds, but I think they are beautiful.

I also found a spring flower, some kind of lily I think, growing by one of the graves. I'm assuming someone brought the flower at some point to decorate the grave and the bulb ended up in the ground and is now in bloom:

I like this cemetery because it's very peaceful. I know people go there because again, several of the graves did have decorations, but I've never seen anyone there. I like to walk around and look at the markers and just feel the quiet and stillness in the air there. I've never been creeped out by graveyards, I think they are beautiful places.

Ike likes cemeteries, too...

If anyone reading this has any additional information about this cemetery, by all means, please pass it along to me. And if I am able to find out anything else about it I will definitely update this entry.

Again, I don't celebrate Easter so I won't mention that, but I will say Happy Spring!  Many more adventures to come soon...

Miss Myo

xoxoxoxo