Inside
this Issue

Valley of Cleveland       Scottish Rite News  January-February, 2001

Ross R. Black and Abbott Scholarships
Grants offered to Students

Inside this Issue

Scottish Rite News
Home Page

  VALLEY TRAVELERS  

Trip to central & south region of Pennsylvania finalized

Want to go to Pennsylvania? Start packing your suitcases

By Robert Cubbison
Valley Tour Director

The itinerary for our trip to the south/central region of Pennsylvania has been finalized.

 Day 1--Sunday, July 8th (D)--We depart the BRT garage at 8:00 a.m. sharp for a 1:00 p.m. planned arrival at the Johnstown Flood Museum. Breakfast and lunch stops will be made along the way. We will take a guided tour of this museum which recreates one of the most shocking and devastating episodes in American History. We will learn how the South Fork Dam was constructed to supply water to the PA Main Line Canal. After the canal was abandoned, the dam and lake were purchased by wealthy Pittsburgh industrialists who established the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club as a summer get-away. Although some repairs were made, the dam was poorly maintained. On May 31, 1889, unprecedented rainfall soaked the area causing the dam to fail and the contents of the lake to cascade down the Little Conemaugh Valley toward Johnstown. This was the first of the four great and devastating floods of the area. Our step-on guide will show us where the dam broke and take us on a tour of the area including sights such as the Grandview Cemetery where in the “Unknown Plot”, 777 unidentified victims of the first flood are buried. Many of the 2209 who perished are interred at Grandview. From here we will go to the famous Johnstown Inclined Plane which is the world’s steepest vehicular incline. We will take it up to the Incline Station Restaurant at the top for dinner with it’s spectacular view of the beautiful Conemaugh Valley. After dinner we will go to the Amtrak Station to board the 6:28 p.m. train for Altoona to enjoy the sights of the area, especially the World Famous Horseshoe Curve. Scheduled arrival in Altoona is 7:30 p.m. where we will check in to the Holiday Inn for two nights. The rest of the evening is free.

Day 2--Monday, July 9 (B, D)-- Breakfast is at 8:00 a.m. at the Hotel. At 9:00 a.m. we will leave the hotel with a Step-on guide and travel to the Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site. This site features a visitor center with a 20 minute film, The Restored Lemon House Tavern and Engine House Interpretive Guiding. The National Park Service demonstrates the ingenuity behind the westward expansion of 19th century America. The Allegheny Portage Railroad was the first railroad constructed over the Allegheny Mountains. This inclined plane railroad operated from 1834 to 1854 and ran a distance of 36 miles between Johnstown and Holldaysburgh connecting two parts of the Pennsylvania Canal. A series of 10 inclines and 11 level sections were used to go over the mountains. The opening of the railroad reduced travel time between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh from 23 days to less than five.

After our stop at the Portage Railroad, we will head for the overlook of the famous Horseshoe Curve. The opening of the curve, in 1854, revolutionized rail travel and cleared the way for the westward expansion of the railroad. Visitors may ride to track elevation on board a single track funicular or walk the 194 evenly spaced steps. We will leave the Curve at 11:30 a.m. and head for Altoona where we will be on our own for lunch at a local restaurant.

At 1:00 p.m. we will meet and depart for the Railroad Memorial Museum. The Museum is a tribute to the men and women of the Pennsylvania Railroad. This high-tech interpretive facility guides visitors through a first-hand experience of life in a booming railroad town. It is one of the best Museums of it’s kind in the world.

At 4:00 p.m. it is break time. We leave to visit the Benzel’s Pretzel Outlet. At 5:00 p.m. we will return to the hotel where we will have dinner this evening. A slide show presentation by one of the local Railroad Historian is planned for this evening.

Day 3--Tuesday, July 10th (B, L, D)--Put out your bags before going to breakfast at 8:00 a.m. in the hotel. At 9:00 a.m. we depart for Raystown Lake where we will enjoy a luncheon cruise on the Lake. After the Cruise, we will depart for Gettysburg and check into the Best Western 1776 Hotel. Tonight we will have dinner at the Dobbin House. After dinner, enjoy the rest of the evening on your own.

Day 4--Wednesday, July 11th (B, D)--Put bags out by 8:00 a.m. for pickup and breakfast is at 8:00 a.m. in the hotel. At 9:00 a.m. we depart for the Battlefield Museum. During the morning, we will visit the Museum, have a Step -on guided tour of the Battlefield with a stop at the DeMolay Monument. Today lunch is on your own.

After lunch, we will walk through the Cemetery and visit the Lincoln Train Museum. The time is mid-November, 1883. The place is on the train bound from Washington, D.C. to Gettysburg, Pa. Abraham Lincoln, our 16th President, is traveling to this small town, the site of one of the most crucial battles in American History, to “say a few words of comfort” at the dedication of the soldier’s cemetery. These ”few words” of course, are the immortal Gettysburg Address, and Lincoln’s is surely finalizing his ideas for the speech on this historic train ride. Wouldn’t it be fantastic to hear Lincoln’s conversation, see the country-side he passed, feel the movement of the train and tracks---actually experience history in the making? At the Lincoln Train Museum, exhibiting one of the finest collector displays of trains in this operating layout, every visitor to Gettysburg can share this important trip. A unique theater, housed in a replica of the train Lincoln traveled in, allows you to become one of the passengers, and gives you the privilege of being the President’s companions on that ride. As you take a seat in the theater, scenery and railroad tracks appear on the screen in front of you to simulate the sensation of riding a train. You are transported back in time--by battles, and a President trying to comfort a war-torn nation in just a few words.

In late afternoon we will leave Gettysburg and drive to Lancaster where we check into the Eden Resort. This will be our home for three nights. Dinner tonight will be family style at the resort.

Day 5, Thursday, July 12 (B, D)--This morning we will have a buffet breakfast at 8:00 a.m. At 9:00 a.m. we will meet our Step-on guide to start our visit to Pennsylvania Dutch Country at the Amish Farm and House to explore the history and customs of the Amish as we tour a home and a working farm, complete with live animals and exhibits. We’ll stop at the food pavilion and sample the tastes and smells of Lancaster County. In the Amish Farmlands the 34-023 Club was founded to foster tourism and promote truthful and accurate information about the area, it’s history and it’s people, with a special respectful consideration of the Amish and their customs. We will stop at an Amish craft shop on an Old Order Amish Farm and then visit Kitchen Kettle Villag., A patchwork quilt of 32 shops, one cafe, one restaurant, one jelly kitchen, and quite a few shopkeepers make up the village. Jellies and jams are made on the premises, filling the air with sweet aromas.

Lunch is on your own.

After lunch, we will visit Bird in Hand Farmers Market, This is an indoor air conditioned market featuring a wide variety of delicious Pennsylvania Dutch foods and handcrafted items.

This evening we will enjoy a Smorgasbord dinner before going to the Millennium Theater to see Sight and Sound bring the story of Noah to life. Witness the power of God’s calling as Noah and his family construct the magnificent 40 foot ark and prepare for their spectacular journey. You will be captivated by hundreds of live and animatronic animals which board the ark, then surround you on the magnificent stage.

Day 6, Friday, July 13th (B, L, D)--Buffet breakfast will be served at 8:00 a.m. At 9:00 a.m. we will meet our Step-on Guide and depart for Sturgis Pretzel House. Here we step into the past and twist a pretzel just as Julius Sturgis did in a bakery dating back to 1784. Our next stop is a Lititz Moravian Community. This community was settled by an early Protestant church group from Germany led by John Hus in the 1500s to seek religious freedom. From here we visit the Wilbur Chocolate Museum. This Museum features antique chocolate artifacts and for you chocoholics there is a chocolate Outlet Store next door. A stop is planned at Keady’s Country Store which is a step back into the early 1900s in this unique general store which is a step back into the early 1900s in this unique country store.

Lunch today is in an Amish Home.

After lunch we will take about a 12 mile journey on the restored Old Stasburg Railroad through spectacular Amish farmland aboard one of America’s oldest steam trains with it’s Victorian parlor cars and gleaming powerful locomotives. From here we will visit the PA. Railroad Museum for a nostalgic glimpse of railroading’s glorious past. Discover the colorful history and technology that built our nation and relive an era where life seemed simpler, a time of progress and prosperity. The museum exhibits a world class collection of nearly 100 locomotives and rail cars from mammoth steam engines and quaint Victorian coaches to sleek streamliners.

Tonight we will have dinner at the Dutch Apple Dinner Theater where we will see the “Wizard of Oz”. Enjoy a great meal and fantastic entertainment.

Day 7, Saturday, July 14 (B)-- Bags out for pickup by 8:00 a.m. A buffet breakfast will be served at 8:00 a.m. At 9:00 a.m. we will depart for home. Appropriate stops for rest, and meal will be made on the way home. We plan on a late afternoon or early evening arrival at the garage.

The above itineraries are confirmed. However itineraries can be subject to change due to circumstances and conditions beyond our control.

The cost of the trip is $899.00 per person, Double occupancy; single occupancy is $1200.00; triple occupancy is $782.00 per person; and quad occupancy is $750.00 per person. Included in the cost:

1. Round trip deluxe motor coach transportation.

2. Six nights hotel accommodations (including taxes).

3. Six breakfasts, two lunches, six dinners (including taxes and gratuities)

4. Admissions, tickets and fees to all attractions (including taxes).

5. Luggage handling, one (1) bag per person.

6. Tips for Step-on guides, escort and driver.

We have fifty (50) seats available. To make a reservation, it is necessary to fill out the reservation form (see page 24) and send it in with a check made out to “The Scottish Rite” for the appropriate down payment, to John Youngblood, Secretary , at the address shown on the reservation form. Seats on all Valley Traveler trips are assigned on a first come, first received receipt of the form and required down payment. Telephone reservations are not accepted.

As in the past, we have set up a payment schedule for your convenience. Equal payments of the balance are due on the first of March, April, May, and a final payment in full on June 1st. The cancellation policy is a full refund if cancelled on or before May 1, 2001. After May 1st, a $25.00 service fee will be charged. After June 1st, a replacement passenger must be found before any refund can be made. Of course, anytime a replacement is found, a full refund will be made.

Top of Page