Frank's Place: August 2017

Thursday, August 31, 2017

Harrison Avenue Bridge Project

A few views of the ongoing Harrison Avenue bridge replacement project from last Friday.

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Electric City Trolley

Philadelphia Suburban 76 at Steamtown last weekend. The Electric City Trolley Museum excursions run Thursdays through Sundays at 10:30 AM, 12:00 Noon, 1:30 PM and 3:00 PM.

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Scranton Skyline

View from the Harrison Avenue bridge from last weekend, new bridge can be seen at bottom.

Monday, August 28, 2017

Reading 903

Reading 903 near the Steamtown entrance, from Friday afternoon.

Sunday, August 27, 2017

Berean Baptist Church

The Berean Baptist Church on Church Street in Carbondale.

Saturday, August 26, 2017

New York Ontario & Western 105

A couple views of O&W 105, the cosmetic work seems to be moving along.

Friday, August 25, 2017

From the Cleveland Press, August 18, 1972.

45 years ago this weekend, Friday, August 25, through Sunday August 27, 1972; The Beatles Away With Words was a multi-media extravaganza. A few weeks before this a man named Howard Ragland came into the Allen, asking about rental availability. We were sort of skeptical of this guy in a cowboy hat with the southwestern accent as he boasted of sellouts across the country. But when showtime rolled around, mobs swarmed the box office. There were three shows a day, at 8, 10 and midnight on Friday and Saturday, and at 4, 8 and 10 PM on Sunday, all nine were sold out. The show itself consisted of a 360 degree sound system, with the sound set at the maximum level. 26 film projectors and a wall of slide projectors bombarded the film screen with 6,000 slides. The show opened with a brief montage of rock and roll before the Beatles, then a quick Beatlemania segment, before heading into the much longer later Beatle era. Dick Wooten in the Cleveland Press didn’t care much for it, but the crowd did seem to enjoy it. A couple days before the show, when it was time to put the show up on the marquee, Ray was insistent that the Beatles, should be spelled Beetles, and it stayed that way all weekend, I seem to recall Jane Scott poking fun at us in her column. There was a guy from across the street, Gary something or other who had a purported love letter from Paul McCartney to Jane Asher. I'm not sure if this was authentic or not, but we had it on display in the rotunda for the weekend. Smitty and Poe (Ken Plocica) hooked up an 8-track player, which continuously played the first Rotary Connection longplayer. To this day their version of Ruby Tuesday is tatooed on my brain.There was also a girl who made copies of the purported love letter, they were sold for $1.00, which went to some charity. Ragland and his associate, whose name I can’t recall, were sort of shady individuals. On Saturday night they got a few counterfeit $20 dollar bills, which they passed at a local restaurant. By Monday morning, these guys had left town and the phone was ringing off the hook as hotels and other suppliers tried to collect on their bills. We took cash up front, so we did OK.

From the Cleveland Press, August 18, 1972.

From the Plain Dealer action Tab, August 25, 1972.

From Scene Magazine, August 24-30, 1972.

From the Cleveland Press, August 26, 1972.

Thursday, August 24, 2017

Gravity Park

The monument to the D&H Gravity Railroad, in Gravity Park in Carbondale. This was erected to honor the Centennial of the D&H in 1923. Originally the D&H operated a gravity railroad to get coal over the mountains to reach the canal at Honesdale.