This is a statue of Henry Clay, "The Great Compromiser". It overlooks Pottsville, up in Schuylkill County. Clay was born in Virginia and achiever political distinction in Kentucky. So why is he being honored by a Pennsylvania city? The answer, I suspect, lies in his determined promotion of a system of internal improvements, "The American System", that involved the construction of an elaborate network of roads and canals designed to knit the new nation together. One of the areas that most benefited from canal construction was the hard-coal region. It was the Schuylkill Canal that linked Pottsville and its coal industry to the urban areas where hard coal was consumed. So it is only logical that the foremost booster of canal development should be honored in Pottsville.
A few years ago we cut a tree in our yard [sob!]. Gradually the stump rotted away. This is all that is left. Sorta pretty..., for a fungus.
Fishing on the Susquhanna.
Just north of Reading in Berks County. The image isn't all it should be. I was in a moving car and the focus is a bit off, and the depth of field isn't what it should be. I just didn't have time to change lenses. But I'll be back, and next time I'll be prepared.
