TULPEHOCKEN 300th ANNIVERSARY TRIP - Chapter One - July 23 & 24, 2023

 

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Three families of my German Palatine ancestors arrived in New York in a group of about 2500 indentured servants to the British Crown in 1710. They were placed in servitude on the Hudson River in a failed attempt to employ them to manufacture pine tar to repay Queen Anne for their Atlantic passage and provisions for survival until they could be self-supporting. The immigrants were eventually released from bondage and lived in several places in New York before some of them migrated to the Tulpehocken Valley in Pennsylvania in 1723. My Fidler, Schauer and Lauck ancestors followed in the second wave of migration to the area. This trip was planned to take advantage of a three-day bus tour to some of the important New York landmarks in the Palatines’ history and to meet with some of my distant cousins in Berks County. 

This is my travel diary of the trip from Topeka, Kansas, to our destinations in Pennsylvania and New York.

RIDING THE RAILS

Rest Stop at Fort Madison, Iowa

Sunday, July 23

My iPhone alarm roused me from sleep at 4:00 am to good news and bad news. As always, the eastbound Amtrak Southwest Chief was running late, but would still arrive in Chicago in plenty of time for my sister LaRita and me to catch our connecting train to Pittsburgh. The scheduled 4:40 am departure time was now pushed up to 7:00 am. We had plenty of time to enjoy coffee and prepare for our thirty-hour adventure on the rails. My sweet husband helped us load our baggage and chauffeured us to the downtown Topeka Amtrak station.

I had planned our trip for nearly two years after learning about a number of events scheduled to commemorate the historic significance of the Palatines' settlement in Berks County 300 years ago. We met several of the movers and shakers in local historical societies in September 2021 when we made a pilgrimage to many homesteads, churches, graveyards, libraries, and historic sites connected to our ancestors. I made a promise to myself to return this year and join in some of the festivities. My dream was about to become a reality!

We joined a few other groggy travelers in the sparsely furnished, but tidy, Amtrak waiting room as we eagerly awaited the roar of the oncoming diesel engine. I was surprised when my friend Lindsey Brown strolled over and said hello. She and I were both music teachers in the Auburn Washburn School District before my retirement. She, Ryan and her two daughters were taking the train to Chicago for vacation. They had not checked the status of the “Chief” and had arrived at the station before 4:30 am! It was great to chat with her as we waited. They planned to visit some of my favorite Chicago attractions.

The station attendant soon ushered us onto the covered outdoor platform where we could see the approaching headlight of the Chief. A thundering roar, a blast from the horn and a hot cloud of diesel fumes signaled her arrival. We quickly boarded the train, stashed our belongings, and settled into our comfy reclining seats. As lush, green fields, neat farmhouses and barns, rivers, and other interesting sights flew by, we passed the time reading, visiting, and snacking on goodies we brought along.

Interior of the Fort Madison, Iowa, Amtrak Station 

We made an abbreviated stop at the grandiose Union Station in Kansas City and paused for passengers to detrain and board at many charming small stations. The Missouri, Des Moines, and Mississippi Rivers whizzed by under our feet as we approached our first layover in the majestic and historic Chicago Union Station. The waterways were a reminder of the role river and rail travel played in westward migration of our ancestors and were the first of many waterways we would traverse on our journey.

Old Fort Madison, Iowa, on the Mississippi River

The Mighty Mississippi River at Fort Madison

A Charming Round Barn 

We arrived in Chicago about two hours behind schedule but had time to dine on chicken parmesan and a Greek salad in the food court, with time to spare before the next leg of our trip. We explored the station, marveling at the beautiful ceiling, columns, and ornate carvings throughout the interior of the Great Hall. We eventually found seats on one of the rich dark wood benches in our assigned waiting area.

Arrival & Departure Platforms in Chicago Union Station

Approach to the Great Hall in Chicago Union Station 

Columns in the Great Hall in Chicago Union Station

Seating in the Great Hall in Chicago Union Station

Canal Street Entrance to Chicago Union Station

Interior Stairway in the Great Hall in Chicago Union Station

The station wasn’t as crowded as I expected, but it was late afternoon on a Sabbath. The complex covers over ten city blocks and serves about 140,000 passengers on 300 trains each weekday. The ornately decorated facility was completed at a cost of $75 million in 1925, after ten years of construction. The cost would be about one billion dollars in today’s currency!

City Bus on Canal Street in Chicago

Canal Street Entrance to Chicago Union Station

Enormous Chicago Union Station Columns on Canal Street

Entrance to Boarding Platforms in Chicago Union Station

A large number of passengers converged in our queue as we prepared to board the Capitol Limited at 6:40 pm. We were guided out of the station and bustled onto one of thirty underground platforms where we were assigned to a car and seats on our train, according to our destination. We were soon settled in and watched the Chicago skyline slip out of sight as the train rolled away and darkness began to fall. We caught an occasional glimpse of Lake Michigan as the train picked up speed, but we soon opted to read until it was time to attempt to sleep our reclining seats.

 

Skyline as We Departed Chicago

Lake Michigan at Dusk

The Ohio River in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Monday, July 24

We slept reasonably well on our travel pillows and blankets and awoke as the sun was rising over Pittsburgh. We followed the broad Ohio River for quite a distance and crossed the Allegheny River just before we pulled into Pittsburgh’s Penn Station. Unfortunately, an annex now serves this location and is little more than a waiting room with a couple of vending machines and bathrooms. The adjoining original building is on the National Register of Historic Places and was a beautiful station in its heyday, but now serves as an apartment building. The boarding platforms and waiting area are rundown and dreary. Luckily, we were on our way again in a couple of hours.

Vintage Doors to Penn Station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Penn Station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The Original Penn Station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh played a significant role in my maternal family history. My great-grandfather, Francis Marion McWilliams, boarded a steamboat at the Golden Triangle formed by the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio Rivers in the summer of 1852 when he was two years old. His family was bound for Dubuque, Iowa, more than 1500 miles away, on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. Apparently, his father was sorely disappointed when they arrived in Iowa, because they began an overland return trip home after only two weeks in Dubuque!

Boarding Platform in Penn Station, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

A Foggy Morning in the Allegheny Mountains

Confluence of the Juniata and Susquehanna Rivers near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

The last leg of our rail trip was made on The Pennsylvanian, a commuter style train with fewer amenities than the previous cars. We staked out seats at the front of our car and had plenty of room to stretch out and keep our bags with us. The final six hours of our journey passed pleasantly as we traveled across soft, timbered mountain peaks, through farmland, and finally followed the course of the beautiful Juniata River to its confluence with the magnificent Susquehanna River. After a quick stop in Harrisburg, we arrived at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, right on schedule at 1:30 in the afternoon.

Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Boarding Platform

Amtrak Commuter Train at Lancaster Station 

Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Train Station

Waiting Area in Lancaster Station

Vintage Ticket Window in Lancaster Station 

A Unique and Whimsical addition to the Lancaster Station

The Lancaster Station is a lovely, quaint, but recently refurbished facility, and we enjoyed looking at the structure and furnishings until our ride to a nearby rental car office arrived. We soon had our Toyota Camry and were on our way. We grabbed Chick-fil-a from a crowed drive-through and set out for our hotel between Lebanon and Myerstown. I was glad the roads were rural and I could relax while I became accustomed to driving a different vehicle. I soon felt confident and our drive was uneventful.

After checking in, unpacking, and freshening up a bit, we were off to our first “event;” dinner with our seventh cousin through the Lerch family, John. We were scheduled to meet with him at the nearby Dutch-Way Restaurant at 5:30, but we wanted to check out the adjoining grocery market of the same name so we arrived a few minutes early. We enjoyed browsing the well-stocked supermarket and looking at the unusual PA Dutch foods and local products that were not familiar to us.

My First Trip Through the Dutch-Way Buffet

When John arrived, we had quite a feast of Dutch dishes from a sumptuous buffet and enjoyed catching up on all the family news. We had not seen each other for almost two years! John is a retired field geologist and genealogy researcher with a solid reputation in the Berks County area. He has generously shared many resources with me, including his 1985 Genealogy of the Lerch Family in Berks County.

I sampled salad with hot bacon dressing, redbeet eggs, sausage pot pie, ham balls, pork with sauerkraut, filling, corn pie and lots of other goodies.  After yakking, giggling, and stuffing ourselves, we returned to our hotel, retired for the evening, and got some much-needed rest.

 

"Jolly" Cousin John! 

NEXT - SERENDIPITY AND MORE COUSINS