You are cordially invited to Allison-Antrim Museum’s Annual Membership Meeting on Thursday, October 13, 7 pm, in the Barn, 365 S Ridge Ave, Greencastle, There will be a brief annual meeting prior to the speaker, for AAMI members to elect directors for 2017 through 2019.
SPEAKER/TOPIC – Gary Johnson: PowerPoint presentation “The Three Babes,” a November 24, 1934 murder case, in neighboring Cumberland Co, in the Pine Grove Furnace State Park.
~ 300 reporters (newspapers & radio) from across the nation came here in 1934. This was before TV.
~ This is the story of the investigation to determine what happened and who the killer or killers were revealed to be.
~ Gary Johnson is a current member of the Institute for Retired Persons (IRP) and a resident of Fayetteville, PA.
~ His education: Aerospace Engineering Degree from VA Tech and a Master’s Degree in Systems Management from the University of Southern California & career included positions at the National Transportation Safety Board and Department of the Navy.
~ No admission fee, but donations are greatly appreciated and will be credited toward the speaker’s series.
~ For more information, please visit: www.greencastlemuseum.org , on Twitter @greencastlemuzm, or call 717-597-9010.
‘TIS THE SEASON…
~ OF Presidential campaigning… buttons
~ New exhibit of vintage campaign buttons open now until after the election
~ From Theodore Roosevelt to 2008 McCain & Obama.
~ Do you need a break… something a little more conventional?
~ There’s Tippecanoe & Tyler Too – a Greencastle campaign banner, a gift from the Greencastle Ziegler family!
~ So, who was Tippecanoe?
~ The collection is on loan from AAMI board member, Bruce McLanahan. Thank you Bruce!
THANK YOU! ANTIETAM HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION & TODD DORSETT…
~ For an inside look behind the doors of the McLaughlin Hotel (aka Antrim House, John Allison Public House, B Street 104) in downtown Greencastle on December 2, 1957.
~ The Palomino Room with neon sign and galloping horse was a destination point in Franklin County with the entrance on the corner of the building.
~ Although there was a bar and lounge, the hotel complex also had a Tavern, with the entrance on N Washington St.
~ The Rotary Club was meeting December 2 and the tables were all set and ready. The Rotary banner was hanging at today’s ADA entrance.
~ Playing at the State Theater (now the banquet room) was “The Jeanne Eagles Story” with Kim Novak and Jeff Chandler.
~ Route 16/Baltimore St East was torn up for resurfacing, with detour signs, appropriately located.
THE ONLY OTHER “RED” COVERED BRIDGE IN FRANKLIN COUNTY…
~ Is the Witherspoon Red Covered Bridge which spans Licking Creek. And Licking Creek feeds into the “other” Conococheague Creek (the West Branch).
~ Witherspoon Bridge is located on Anderson Road, west of Upton – a very lovely and delightful afternoon drive.
~ It’s 87′ span is open to traffic. It is 14′ wide with a 9′ 4″ H clearance, with a 3 ton weight limit.
~ The Witherspoon Bridge was constructed with the Burr truss system, patented in 1804 by Theodore Burr, NY.
~ Burr trusses were arches, wide in width, which were “tied” into the bridge abutments. The arch truss is reinforced with triangular support posts, which gives it great strength and stability.
~ Of the remaining covered bridges in PA, 122 have the Burr truss system. The Martin’s Mill Covered Bridge is not one of the 122. It has the Town truss system; more on that tomorrow.
~ It’s not yet been discovered, in any documentation why the bridge is named “Witherspoon,” but it is surmised from information in the ” Biographical Annals of Franklin County 1908″ that it was named after James Witherspoon and his family. James (b. Montgomery Twp. October 1809 and d. August 19, 1877) purchased the Irwin farm in 1866. James’ son, John A Witherspoon, then took ownership. The Irwin property included what today is known as the Irwinton Mill/Anderson Mill, just north of the bridge and powered by the West Conococheague Creek.
