An uprising and Riot by Draft Dodgers in Central Pa during the Civil War Now mostly forgotten

 As the Civil War dragged on more and more men decided to either dodge the draft or desert the Union Army such was the case of Thomas Adams of Knox Clearfield county in the center of Pa.  

https://www.visitclearfieldcounty.org/parks_cabins_bloody_knox

Who had a cabin in Knox Twp. 

He became  Martyr of shorts killed by union troops when they got wind that he and large group of resisters where at his cabin .having a party

 

The resisters where causing problems all over the county including looting and the union army had enough when 500 men where drafted in Clearfield and only 150 showed. 

When a sheriff was shot by resisters working as Loggers enough was enough 

on December 13 1864 Union troops went in search of the resisters and  it would be known as the Bloody Knox incident and  would see Thomas Adams and Union Solider Edgar L Reed  laying dead and 18 arrested and eventually 150 captured and incarcerated .

 

https://www.visitclearfieldcounty.org/parks_cabins_bloody_knox

Now Knox was not the only incident as their where riots in city's all over the northeast but Bloody Knox 

saw some of the worst of it .

 

A long forgotten location of early settlers homestead in Baldwin Boro Pa.

The walls where still standing when I was a kid in 60s along Glass Run Road a 1- 1/2 story  early frontier stone house which was built into a hill side to prevent Indian attacks. From the rear all traces of it now long gone except for couple foundation stones .Why it was not preserved I will never know but the Pittsburgh Region has a way of just destroying its history.

I contacted the Baldwin historical group for info on this pioneer home but they where of no help at all. 

As you wind down the road way from Baldwin Fire Dept about half way down you round one of the bends  will see a nice split level home with a miniature barn with Mail pouch tobacco sign painted on it 

 Back behind where the pickup is parked if you go back into the hillside you will find whats left of the 

one time pioneer home a couple foundation stones.

They can be seen better during winter time. But as Always  Remember this is private property  if you have a desire to further check it out. .

Don't know if the home owner even knows the home was back there. stopped a couple times but no one was home. .

The Secret Fur Coat Storage Business which operated quietly in a Pittsburgh Oakland Neighborhood for many years

 Back in the early 1900s into the 1980s  before all the synthetic Coats and when women where more into wearing stylish clothing . With the harsh winters of Pittsburgh many wore Fur Coats and or stoles

Those during summer time  who could afford it would pay to have them safely stored  in a cold storage vault to help preserve them from drying out and deteriorating  .

 The Numerous Dry Cleaning Stores   that where around before Non Wrinkling easy clean business clothing came out had signs saying. " Please allow Us to safely store your fur Items this summer in our secure vaults  " 

Also Furriers who sold Fur Coats would offer summer storage  as well. At one time downtown Pittsburgh had several fur stores  now their is only one.  

Since fur has fallen out of favor due to easier to care for fabrics and animal abuse activists

Of course not every store had a vault it was a gimmick just like  all the Drug Stores that all developed film Before they acquired Mini Labs.

The stores 3rd party contracted it out.

In the case of Furs it was the Pittsburgh Fur Cold Storage Company   

They had this very old Dark green box truck  with no name on it and a yellow sign on back doors warning that a BABACO Alarm System was in use .

https://babaco.com/

A lot of people thought the signs where a joke but this is a  very old line prestigious company that designed and protected valuable loads around the USA and world 

 This truck quietly went around Pittsburgh neighborhood shops picking up the furs then 

ended up backing into a buildings basement from a back alley at the corner of Baum and Bigelow Boulevard . Now a  Real estate office where all signs of the garage are gone now just a glass entry way 

but you can see how it sloped downward into basement 

 Once in the garage they where unloaded  and Furs where carefully examined repaired if requested put into protective sleeve or box  and stored in a vault with the hundreds of other coats .

I only knew about this place because I worked for Holmes Protection in 1980 for a short time before starting my own alarm business out of disgust  how they ran theirs.

I was with my assigned  trainer Stanley that warm summer night when we pulled up to the building  which had a furrier upstairs who sold fur coats .With no idea what went on down below .

 We walked inside and where lead to the very large basement with several vault's  where we repaired the burglar  alarm system that protected them overnight .

It was one of many Hidden businesses operating in the back alleys of Pittsburgh quietly  minding its business and providing a needed service.

That was till late 80s one late afternoon 2 men stole the fur truck  as it was sitting outside the garage and got away with some of the furs.

Like the Purolator Armored car garage and vault  robbery they tried to keep it hushed up but they could not and the cat was out of the bag .  

But by then Fur industry was on its way out and by the early to mid 90s the business appears to no longer exist.

An extensive internet search has yet to provide  details of the theft or the business .

But its one of those unique crimes which happened in Pittsburgh area. Now long forgotten. 

Hopefully i will eventually find more information and be able to present it.

 

 

  

So what was the large White Owl I saw along Allegheny River Blvd. Is this what others say was the Moth Man ?

 2 summers ago I was driving down Allegheny river Blvd. toward Verona and just passing the Verona Shops when a very large white owl came out of no where and landed on a tall tree stump it was mostly white with a very long wingspan almost 4 ft hanging down.

It looked very much like this white Arctic Owl  I slowed down to get a picture and it took off. 

Now OK so I saw a big white owl no big deal  only there is a big problem .

They are not native to here . They are in very northern parts of Canada and the Arctic.

not Pennsylvania.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowy_owl

So was this bird just off course or is its some ones pet they let loose?  did it escape from an Aviary? Who knows but if this big owl is what people in WV  saw this at night I can see it being confused as a moth man   

Because they are not suppose to exist around here. but other strange and exotic birds have shown up here after storms knocked them off track so maybe that's the case with this owl and it made its way back to Canada .

Whatever it was it was magnificent.

 

A very Special Staircase many pass every day in Pittsburgh Strip District and have no ideal it is even there

Old  St Patrick church along Liberty Ave is a very small unassuming church many pass everyday but inside its hiding a secret . it is one of 3 Churches in US which have a replica of the steps  which are ascended by kneeling on them the whole way up and are an exact copy of the sacred steps 

of St Johns Basilica in Rome 

https://pghshrines.org/st-patrick-1

 

But there is so much more history to the steps and old St Patrick's  

the steps represent the 28 steps Jesus took towards judgement by Pontious Pilate

Commissioned by Father  James Cox in1936  the second church on the site the first one destroyed in a fire .

Now if that name seems familiar to those who stucy history yes this is the Priest who lead Coxes Army to try and get relief for WW!

veterans .

Read the link abve for more on this most unique Chuch.